WINNING HIGH SCHOOL SPEECHES
Kayla A. Carlisle
Golden Sierra High School
Garden Valley, California
9th grade
Reaching for the Sun
As I watch the sun set at night I wonder, “What is hope?” In these troubled times I see crisis around me every day: on the television news, on the internet, on the face of the high-strung, high school senior rushing late into class with streaming tears about unfinished homework. Crisis is when I have five tests on the same day. Crisis will be when I am turned down for my first job application, when I am first disappointed in a relationship, and when I dent my car. Crisis is the intensifying unemployment in America and the world. I know what crisis is.
But hope? That’s harder to define. It’s more than a label for mistakes, disasters, and horrors as “crisis” is. It’s a feeling, a sensation—a separate plane of existence, perhaps—but I know it’s there. As a teenager, hope resides so firmly within me that I can almost feel it bubbling between each synapse of my brain, and the feeling comes most commonly when I am learning.
Teenagers are lucky because we are all students, and when we open our minds to our teachers we receive a flood of new ideas from Chinese philosophy to trigonometric functions. As people grow older they may become set in their ways and forget to learn, and so their hope fades. Teenagers haven’t had the chance to forget the joy of discovery, and with each day bringing new surprises, we realize anything is possible. Do you remember when you were in elementary school and someone told you about outer space? How as you tried to envision infinity, magic and science seemed indistinguishable? That feeling, as you pictured a universe of infinite possibilities, was hope.
People tell you to aim for the moon, so if you don’t reach your goal you’ll fall in the stars, which might be more wonderful than your target. I believe in this saying. Hope in your dreams—like reaching the moon—leads to the determination needed for any success. But I want to reach for more than the moon; I have enough hope in me that I believe I can reach the sun!
Living in a rural area with zero skyscrapers, the sun seems a lot farther away than it would in, say, New York City, but it’s still there. Frequently, the clouds block the sun, and it seems impossible that you will ever see it again unless you have hope.
The crisis of our economy is such a cloud, and it hits my family hard as we must take financial responsibility for not just our family with four college-bound students, but for our grandparents as well. Our grandparents lost their retirement savings in the stock market, and our parents may never receive social security although they invested in it all their lives.
Despite the challenge for our parents to raise enough money for retirement and to help us pay for college, my siblings and I have hope. We work hard in school, set our sights toward college, and map our careers. We work to become financially independent and to be able to support our parents and our own children, should we be faced with the same financial burdens as our parents today.
This summer we will stand on the graduation stage in black robes. We will look past the crisis and chaos of these trying times where the economy descends, and our armies roam in lands out of sight but not mind. We will move towards our glorious futures, as dazzling as the sun.
Dominique Clarke
Timber Creek Regional High School
Sicklerville, New Jersey
11th grade
I’ve thought about what to say to this graduating class. I’ve considered the topics to explore and pondered over the messages to deliver. And once I began to write, I agonized over my words, doubting myself to the point of panic. I compared my speech to what I believed a speech should be, feeling the greatest sense of inadequacy as things didn’t match up. The uncertainly swelled, and the questioning began. “Who am I?” I thought, “What do I have to say?” “What gives me the authority to say anything to anyone?” and “Will what I say really matter?” Well, it is with these insecure questions in the back of my mind that I speak with you today.
These insecurities rarely leave, residing quietly in our hearts even after we succeed. When we get that pat on the back, that praise, those cheers, we still question ourselves. We question our value. Throughout our lives, we’ve been exposed to the titans—the Hemingways, the Jordans, and the Rockefellers of the world. As we stand in awe, their very being seems to eclipse who we are. Sometimes, instead of being inspired to excel, we become scared, discouraged from even thinking about attempting such success. And the questioning begins.
Questions. No doubt you have some questions as you graduate from high school, some of which extend beyond simple self-doubt. “Should I go to college?” “Should I get an apartment?” “Should I get a job?” These are all normal questions we ask ourselves as we graduate, but sometimes our questions can become slightly more grim. These days, our parents are asking themselves: “Will I be able to keep my job?” “Can I afford to retire?” “Will I be able to keep my house?” In a time when the world seems most turbulent, we can’t help but to wonder what the future holds. These types of questions convert themselves into fear—a fear of the unknown. And that fear holds us back.
I don’t know what you’re going through, how serious your situation may be, or what questions you’re asking yourself right now. What I do know, is that some of the greatest discoveries have been made in times of intense questioning, bloodcurdling fear, and absolute crisis. Even if you’re not affected by the current recession, mourning a death in the family, or experiencing another distressing situation, you may find yourself in a crisis: a crisis of the mind. A crisis of self-doubt and self-worth. But if you push past this crisis, forgetting your worries, fears, and insecurities, you’ll find yourself stronger in the end. Horace said it best when he stated: “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” Example? Twinkies. That’s right, Twinkies were invented during the Great Depression. If it wasn’t for the Stock Market Crash of 1929, we may have never discovered these light, delicious cakes.
If Twinkies can come out of the Great Depression, how much more can come out of you this graduation? In fact, take a moment and think about how much you’ve already accomplished and what talents you’ve elicited after long nights in front of torn textbooks or hot days on a baseball field. If you hadn’t pushed yourself to the limit, silencing the insecure questions, you would have never discovered your true strength. It’s no different now. The stakes may seem higher, and the crisis much greater, but today, as you graduate, remember that a crisis is simply a hidden opportunity to discover your true potential. You might even find yourself writing a graduate speech. Congratulations Graduates!
Kyle Faber
Metro High School
Columbus, Ohio
10th grade
Our world is consumed by crisis. It can be seen every day on a regular basis, be it in the newspaper, the TV, or the radio. Disease, terrorism, and war are all things that coat the popular media today and engrave themselves in our lives and minds. Yet the real crisis lays waiting under the surface, lurking for the moment in which to strike silently with deadly accuracy. That crisis is ignorance.
It has been said by a many teachers and parents alike that “if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem.” Certainly this statement is true and holds ground in almost any situation. But often overlooked is that one problem can cause another. If you do not solve the root, then none of its consequences will be solved. We, as the future of our country and world today, are responsible for reprehending these problems.
In our American society, as evidenced by the scare tactics and partial information used by our media, we are surrounded and consumed by crisis. There is not a day that passes without something on the news that is designed to instill fear and boost ratings. Therein lies the problem, as this “infotainment” is not taken with a grain of salt. Take the swine flu panic, for example. The fear over the 192 cases in the United States caused panic on an international scale and caused even more economic damage in an already troubled time. Yet the 36,000 that die annually from the seasonal flu goes relatively unnoticed on the grander scale. Why? We as a nation have been cultured like sheep to follow blindly on the trails of drama and entertainment, without giving it a second thought. We as a nation have accepted what we’ve seen at face value, without the desire to go beyond the surface.
Ignorance is our crisis. It is ours in the sense that it is something we own, and like any possession, we can choose what we do with it. We can keep crisis in our pockets and hence in our minds, or we can trade it for something of greater value: hope. Hope is the driving force that allows one to go from the grind of today to the promise of tomorrow. Hope is the glimmer of change for the better around the bend. Hope, most importantly, is the willingness to move on and strive to be the best that you can be.
So as we go out into the world, or on to higher education, remember this: We are the future of our nation and the world. The trends of the past— ignorance, fear, and deceit—are not binding chains. We are free to cast aside the crisis that burdens us by solving it from its root. Most importantly, we have the power to replace that crisis with something far more powerful. We can replace crisis with hope.
Matthew Gonzalez
Bronx Aerospace High School
Bronx, New York
9th grade
I live in a world of financial problems. Mostly everyone goes through them. I know I did. My mother just lost her job. I just went to school. Times were hard for us but we got through. My brothers asked for everything. I asked for nothing because I knew we were going through a tough time. Even today I don’t ask for a thing.
My grandmother just came back from Europe and spent way too much. We only have enough to pay for the bills and food. I always worry about the money. But my grandmother screams at me and says it’s none of my business. She always says, “As long as you have your health, you’re rich.”
I know my problems are not that bad. I know people have gone through worse. I see people on the streets living where they’re not supposed to be. Eating off the floor where the rats sleep. I’m humble where I am. I wish I could give them more than I have.
We wish so much and get so little. We wish for world peace but instead we get beef. We wish we had money to spend on thee. But instead of all that wishing, we have hope, when the world is going on a downward slope. With all that hope we have belief, knowing where we’re supposed to be.
I live in a world where you have to fight to be. I live in a world where you live to be free. I live in a world where you need money to be me. I live in a world where I don’t want to be. I live in a world where I shouldn’t be because there are things on the street that I shouldn’t have to see.
Our world needs to be changed. It needs life and freedom. It needs to see the other side of the street. It needs to stop seeing the rich and start feeding the poor. It needs to look through the dark before it can look to the day. It needs to see through the eyes of the people and not through the eyes of the gods.
I live in this world today. I see the hope people need to be free. I keep my own hope to see the future ahead of me. I have seen my hope expand to see that I could do anything. The hope I have for change is the hope I have for will. As long as you have hope you have the world in your hands. Hope is Freedom, Hope is Will, Hope is Everything!!!
Anna Meister
Future Pathways
Des Moines, Iowa
12th grade
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." - Helen Keller
Times are hard. People all around us are suffering. Parents are losing their jobs. Families are losing their homes. Grandparents are losing their retirement savings. The banks and auto manufacturers are getting bailouts. What’s all this about stimulus packages?
We’ve studied hard. We’ve completed the projects and written the papers. We’ve passed the tests. We’ve made it through these four years of high school and are ready to move forward with our big dreams.
What are we to think? Where are we supposed to turn? College is expensive. Loans are few and far between. Scholarships are even fewer. We’ve applied for financial aid. We’ve written essay after essay. We took the ACT, numerous times. We’ve worked hard to piece our funding together.
We are ready. We get excited. Our new adventure is ahead. Our dreams begin to take shape. We count the days until we pack and move out across the country, down the street, into apartments, into dorms.
But then the fear creeps in again. Will next year be any better? Will what we experience in college prepare us for the future? Looking forward to when we graduate from college—will there be jobs or careers for us? Will our student loans be so massive we won’t be able to afford our own place?
How can we maintain hope in these times? We are young, we are graduating, and we are supposed to be hopeful.
Are we?
What is hope?
The dictionary defines hope in this way: To wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment or to have confidence and trust. So what is our wish? What do we expect?
We expect to work hard. We expect to dream big. We expect to experience new things and discover worlds far different from what we’ve known. We expect the world to change. We expect to be the ones doing the changing.
Rita Mae Brown said it well: “Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” We can be creative if we trust. Trust that the world willcome through this crisis, not only stronger, but smarter. And we can be a part of that. We know a lot. Okay, not everything, but we have great minds and a lot of energy. We aren’t afraid to take chances. We trust ourselves.
The adults in our lives—our parents, our teachers, our mentors—have taught us well. Knowledge is power. We’ve got our base—thanks to those teachers who went the extra mile. We’ve got our dreams— thanks to those colleges who are holding our places.
And so we will work hard. And we will dream big. And we will be hopeful.
Audrey Owens
Metro High School
Columbus, Ohio
9th grade
Learn to Have the Hope
Everyone has his or her fears, no matter whether they want to face them or not. For me, my fears get bigger and bigger with every day of troubles. With every day of war. With every day of crime. With every day of poverty. With every day of global warming. With every day of thinking “the world is spiraling in a downfall.” These things are just a few of my fears though. And they don’t just scare me for the sake of my life, but they scare me for the sake of the world. I think about the future, which I want to be pleasurable for everyone; however, I know that isn’t as likely to happen with the way things are progressing.
I want to encourage people to make changes, so they aren’t limiting the future. Sure, it’d be nice to have a carefree-sort-of world; however, we don’t. We no longer have the space to think that things like war, crime, and global issues will find their own way to escape us. We have to learn to show them their way out! Some things might be tolerable now, but everyone knows that as time goes on and things accumulate, piles of problems will become bigger and more unbearable! We can’t afford to wait for them to become that way; we need to take the initiative.
When I say “we,” I don’t mean just you and me; I mean all of the people—communities, groups, families, teenagers, etc. The people of today have the power to make things better for the future. If we tackle our fears now, it takes away the huge amounts of stress that the future is bound to present. We have the power to save the lives of our kids and grandchildren! So why not do it?
I’m not saying that you have to go out and take on one big project to save the world. It’s the little things that matter most. Try helping those in need. Don’t encourage violence. Support the people that fight for you everyday. Recycle instead of littering. Make changes in your life and educate others to do the same!
You’ve probably heard tons of people say these things, but dig deeper into their meaning. There is hope. Think of support groups, friendly citizens, or caring optimists and learn to share their faith. If other people are doing it, why can’t we? Don’t let us underestimate our generation. In a world of technological zeniths and newly discovered cures, we have to compete. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” So learn to believe. I know we can make an impact; there’s no doubt in my mind.
I want to make you aware of this. Knowledge is power. I’ve learned in certain instances that the more I know, the more prepared I am to make a point. Making a point is what has the power to change people’s minds. Knowing you have knowledge about the crisis, you can find undiscovered strength and motivation from within., including the motivation to teach others. We have the power of youth and fresh ideas. We have freedom and voice. We can form friendships and bonds of unity. Let’s exercise these skills. Transform those fears into a sign of hope—hope that with our generation’s abilities, we will change the world and end our fears.
