|
Valedictorian Address by Stephanie Audibert
Good evening. It is with great honour that I was asked to represent the 2008
graduating class of A.N. Myer. Let me begin by saying thank you. Thank you
to the staff, administrators and teachers who have taught, supervised, and
disciplined, but most of all, thank you for guiding each and every one of
us. Also, thank you to our distinguished guests who have taken the time to
recognize our accomplishments this evening. The biggest thank you of all is
reserved for our families. They have given us their time, and unconditional
love, but more importantly, the use of their cars and their money. Give them
a round of applause.
I find it ironic that I have worked hard for four years, and am rewarded with
another speech to prepare. You have worked hard for four years, and are
rewarded by having to listen. I guess we’ve learned that life isn’t always
fair.
As much as this phenomenal class has grown together, each of us has also
grown as unique individuals. This room is filled with many amazing athletes
and scholars who excel in their own capacities, as well as musicians and
artists who paint our world with their own language. This class of 2008
should stand tall and be proud to be part of such a talented and unique group.
Four years ago we entered A.N. Myer scared and full of anticipation, but with
a little hint of excitement. Over the years, we have grown from insecure,
immature minor-niners to confident, focused and successful young adults.
This incredible transformation has been the result of our entire A.N. Myer
experience. The many roaring football games, the sea of purple and white on
spirit days, the miraculous school productions, Santa Claus parades, Casino
Niagara Marathons, and not to mention our one Halloween Dance have pulled us
together as a class and we have learned to love and respect one another.
We gather this evening and sit with purple gowns, wearing these ridiculous
looking caps as our families sit by watching with extreme pride. We can’t
imagine the sense of relief they must be experiencing. Now would probably be
a great time to ask for money. In all seriousness, their strict guidance and
extreme dedication has helped us all immensely.
Tonight is more than just a ceremony. It is a turning point in our lives.
It is the last page of the scrapbook we call high school. Our scrapbooks are
filled with memories from our first day at Myer and ends with this very
evening. Our early days at Myer were a time of mixed emotions. Our classes
were filled with many new faces. Slowly, these faces developed into lasting
friendships. Every person we encounter has a definite affect on our lives.
If one face of our scrapbook went missing, a part of our lives would also
disappear.
How quickly time has passed since our parents first put us on that big,
yellow bus for that never ending journey to school. We’d climb aboard and
sit right behind the bus driver. We didn’t dare sit at the back of the bus
or even turn around in fear of making eye contact with the big kids. In our
primary years, we learned reading, writing, arithmetic and what soon became
our most scholarly class, recess. This was followed closely by lunch. We
would often return home to the familiar question “What did you learn today?”
On most days, we would reply “nothing.” On good days, we would
reply “stuff.” Senior elementary was another story. Now, we were the big
kids at the back of the bus. We learned to think a lot about ourselves and
not much about anything else. I think our parents would agree. Then it was
off to high school where suddenly we were given responsibility. We matured.
First, we were able to pick our own classes. Soon, we were able to drive to
school all by ourselves. And I’m sure we all enjoyed the freedom of going to
the Queen’s Coach during our spares.
Now we are graduating and look forward to standing on our own two feet in the
real world. But before we can stand on our own two feet, we must have
something more in our heads than the desire to stand up. We need to know
enough to keep our balance. So it is here, tonight, that we stand on our own
two feet. We have passed from the dependence of adolescence to the
responsibilities of adulthood. Responsibility is the inevitable price one
has to pay for independence. One of my favourite quotes is by George
Carlin. It reads, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.” So I guess it is not enough
to just remain standing. We must evolve. We must try new experiences and
make mistakes. Wisdom is gained from the lessons of trial and error. Thomas
Edison said “I have never failed. I have just discovered ten thousand ways
that won’t work.” Along with our mistakes, we must learn from the mistakes
of others because we’ll never live long enough to make them all ourselves.
Humanity can be divided into three parts: those who make things happen,
those who watch things happen and those who don’t know what’s happening.
Right now, we seem to fall into category three. Tonight we will start the
journey to change that. The Great Michelangelo believed, “The greatest
danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and fail, but that our aim
is too low and we succeed.” Many people believe that we don’t know much,
having only 18 years of life experience. I believe their mistaken. Myer has
taught me a lot about myself and others. My most important lessons were
people lessons. Those are the ones which could never be taught from a book.
You must go out and experience those lessons for yourself.
People say that every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
As we set out to start the rest of our lives, we’ll look back on our time at
Myer. We’ve all accomplished things we never thought possible. We’ve broken
boundaries and pushed ourselves to the limit. We’ve had classes we loved,
classes we hated, teachers we loved and teachers we…I seem to have lost my
train of thought…We’ve had days we wished would never end and days we wished
never begun. We’ve all laughed, we’ve all loved, we’ve all cried. We have
all lived life. All of these things have shaped the people we are today.
It is rather ironic that the closest one ever feels to something is at the
moment of separation. This is true of many things, but most of all, it’s
about leaving A.N. Myer. The world we are about to enter will be different
for each of us. Yet, we will all be experiencing a new beginning. We will
face hardships and let downs, but also a life full of wonderfully unexpected
moments of success. Our time together as the graduating class of 2008 will
always linger through the hallways of A.N. Myer. Remember the memories but
accept new challenges. As we move on to life after high school, we leave
behind cherished friendships and the comforts of A.N. Myer, but we take with
us the memories and knowledge we have gained throughout the past four years.
We have proven ourselves to be successful, competent young adults.
As we graduate and say farewell to our generation as marauders, remember
Shakespeare’s quote, “There are as many farewells as be stars in heaven.”
So, fellow graduates, as you look out on a clear night sky during the years
to come, think about what was and what became. Think about our world at A.N.
Myer and remember your friends, the class of 2008.
I’m going to end this evening with one final quote. It is not from William
Shakespeare, not from George Carlin, Thomas Edison or even Michelangelo. It
is a meaningful quote from the fictitious, redneck hillbilly, Joe
Dirt: “Life’s a garden. Dig it.”
| |
