Fariman Farzan
Ms. Cappelli
17 February 2012
Expos Comp

High School Graduation Speech

September 8, 2008. Colossal corridors and mammoth-sized seniors greeted my frightened freshmen shell. Though I clung desperately to my remaining drops of confidence from the pinnacle of eighth grade, they evaporated under the sheer intensity of high school. I dared not poke my unprotected head out to view this new realm, too terrified of whom or what I might find. Fortunately, curiosity overpowered even the most paralyzing insecurity, and slowly I shoved away boundaries, tentatively testing my abilities and talents.

We are leaving the teachers who have put hours of patience, effort, and dedication to make sure that we gained an education. For me, I learned priceless lessons from my teachers; my teachers have personally helped me grow as a student as well as a person. They have challenged me and given me knowledge in an array of classes some of them being AP classes. These gifts awarded to me have shaped me and will constantly propel me into the future.

In tenth grade, taking Mr. Cummings strenuous AP Euro class paved the road of success for me. By taking his class, I developed college-level academic skills that have greatly impacted my high school education. I became a better student and dedicated more time to studying than I had previously done before. I continued to take rigorous AP courses but none has had a bigger impact on me than Mr. Rauschuber’s AP Government class. I’m always up late finishing my homework and occasionally writing 20 page essays on whether or not our democracy is legitimate. However, despite all the hardships I go through on a daily basis, AP Government has prepared me for how arduous college can be.

Tonight we sit here as proof of hope for the future. We are the businessmen, the teachers and the parents of tomorrow. For tonight’s graduation is the culmination of our commitment, from efforts from that first day of kindergarten to now as we await the satisfaction of diplomas in our hands. While at times it may have been easy to have been drawn into the negative aspects of school, we have chosen to pursue success and to accomplish tasks we never thought possible. Worthy of pride, this is why I congratulate you.

With the support of our parents, our teachers and our friends we made it to this day and to the beginning of a new stage of our lives. We will be leaving the halls of Pali and the smell of the beach early in the morning to further pursue our education. Where we go from here and what new frontiers we are meant to discover may remain unseen, but as we step onto the spotlight and stare into the first lights of what is to come and what is to be, always remember tonight’s victory. Now that we are embarking on the rest of our lives, I challenge you to never stop thinking or learning. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said in “Tender is the Night”: “Either you think or else others have to think for you and take power from you.” When we stop thinking, we lose the power that makes us uniquely human. So whether you’re going to a university, or a community college, whether you’re joining the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines, whether you plan to start working or pursue some type of vocational education never stop learning. The world is a powder keg of knowledge and we all are the fuses. For no matter what tomorrow brings, be it the simplest path or a road wrought with twists and turns, tonight we share an achievement. Class of 2012, congratulations. Always take with you the memories, the knowledge and the self-satisfaction of a job well done.