Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Munchkin's graduation speech

Munchkin's speech, as written. I feel like she made some changes when she delivered it, but this is the written version.

Keep in mind, she graduated with 25 other kids, so it is a small group that knows everything about everyone, and she was definitely speaking to her friends and their families as such.

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Fellow students, principal X, staff members, guests, our wonderful teachers and our parents. Thank you all for joining us today. Every one of you has contributed to making our time at [School Name] everything that it was, and celebrating our graduation wouldn't be the same without you.

In preparation for this, I asked most of my classmates what graduation meant to them. I got two answers. First, that graduation was an end. An ending to this stage of our lives and our education. An ending to childhood, to dependence, and to our time living at home and seeing everyone at our wonderful little school every day.

The other answer I heard was that graduation is a beginning. A beginning to growing up, and to adulthood. To the next stage of our lives. To moving away, meeting new people, seeing new places and studying new things.

But everyone agreed that it is a celebration. A celebration of an achievement, and of a milestone. More than that, I'd like to think of it as a celebration of people. Of all of us, and all of you who helped us get here, and will help us with our next adventures.

I joined you partway through our journey, and my experience was always unusual. I came from a different place in a different world, and some might say that it was a result of some bad luck. But I caught two amazing breaks. First, I am blessed to have what I am sure you all agree, without exaggerating, is the very best big sister in the whole world.

(Then I got an ovation:-) Hee hee, bragging again! This is also probably where I lost complete control of myself.)

And wonderful friends who have treated us both a family since we came here. Second, I was blessed to end up here, at this school with all of you. I found myself dropped not just into classmates who welcomed me and a group of teachers who have been great role models to us all, but into all of your families, as well. Families that treated me, as they have treated all of us, as one of their own children.

It is important that we remember that we are not here just because of our own families. We are here because of everyone in our community: parents and teachers and brothers and sisters and friends.  Parents who drove their own and other kids to soccer games, and to movie theaters. Parents who took other kids on vacation with them. Older brothers and sisters who chaperoned our dances and came on field trips and helped us all with homework. Friends who brought us to things outside of our own small circle here.

In four months, we will be scattered across the country, but we will carry with us the relationships we made here and the memories of our time growing up together. I hope that what we remember is the way we treated each other, the way our parents treated us, the way our teachers treated us, and the way they have taught us to treat others.  I hope that we remember how important this little world has been to all of us...this perfect, welcoming, caring, doting, loving little world. Whatever you do, and whoever you become will be in part because of the wonderful people that have surrounded us through our years here.

Since we can't agree on whether this is a beginning or an end, let's just agree that it is a moment. A moment made possible because of the amazing group of people that we are lucky enough to share it with. And a moment to celebrate everything they have meant to us, and everything we can all mean to each other forever.


4 comments:

Rachael West said...

Wow. I loved it. Give her a high-five for me :o)

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

That's a pretty amazing speech. No wonder you're so proud!

Anonymous said...

That girl is pure awesome. Love it.

Lori S-C said...

A+++