San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Falls City High School
Good evening, everyone. On behalf of the class of 2021, I would like to welcome all faculty, alumni, friends, family and distinguished guests to the 70th commencement ceremony of Falls City High School, and would like to take this time to thank you all for coming out here to support us tonight. To start off, I would like to say how sincerely honored I am to be able to speak to you all here today, and would like to thank my parents, my friends, and everyone else that has pushed me to achieve this goal. I would also like to thank all the friends, relatives, and faculty members who have helped and supported our class through these last few years of high school, and would especially like to thank the parents who have had to put up with each and every one of us over these past 18 years. I may not be the best at showing it, but I do sincerely appreciate everything you all have done for me, our class and our school as a whole.
And now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s get on to the real stars of the show. Graduating class of 2021, we made it. After 13 long, long years, we made it. Despite the countless nights of lengthy book reports, late-night math homework sessions and science projects our parents had to help us with because we waited until the last minute again, everything was worth it to be able to sit in these chairs tonight.
Ever since our first few days at school, we have always wondered when we’d get a chance to finally leave it. And now my friends, I can confidently say that day has arrived. Now I know I can kind of make school life sound like a hell with books in it from time to time, but it really wasn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be, especially when you’ve got these 23 people behind me to spend it with. Over the past 13 years, I’ve come to know and love each and every one of these individuals and could not have asked for a better group of people to spend high school with. The countless lunch table conversations we’ve had, sporting events we’ve been to, recess games we’ve played, and homework group chats we’ve been a part of
have created memories that will undoubtedly stick with us for years to come and remind just how sweet high school life really was.
I mean, who could forget the time Ethan’s volcano project blew a hole through the ceiling tile, or the time Trenton accidentally threw up on Courtney, causing Courtney to almost throw up herself, or that one time our field day got ruined because half the class dove face-first into the foam pit only to find out there was concrete at the bottom.
And let’s not forget that time Chance took advantage of Mrs. Ehlers’s bird fear by making chirping noises to scare the heck out of her, or the time Nathan gave Nathaniel a concussion by accidentally dropping a fire extinguisher on his head, or even that time Chance got crossed up so hard in our recess basketball game that he had to get sent to the ER in need of stitches on his head. While most of these memories may sound pretty bad, or even painful, in the end, we were all able to have a good laugh from them and grew closer together as a result. We have all been so, so blessed to know each other for as long as we have, many of us having been together since kindergarten. And while we may have lost a few since then, we have also picked up some amazing people along the way that have helped shape our class into the 24 outstanding individuals sitting before you all here today. But despite where we have come from or how long we’ve been here, what matters tonight is that we can all sit here as a class, unified by our common goal of moving on from high school and turning to the next chapter of our lives.
Whether that is in the form of pursuing higher education, starting your career out of high school, or following some other path to success, one thing that is certain is that now, it is our turn to make a difference. We have all been given the knowledge and power necessary to make an impact in the world. Now it is up to us, and us alone, to choose how it is we wish to accomplish this.
As famous writer, poet and philosopher, Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Suess, once wrote, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” I chose this quote, not just because I haven’t really picked up a book since the 2nd grade, but because it exemplifies the message I am trying to get across while doing it in a way that even a child could understand.
We all once had that child’s spark of creativity that allowed for us to have these extremely ambitious goals we thought were possible at the time, whether that was in the form of wanting to be an astronaut setting the first boots on Mars, an NFL player catching the game-winning pass for your team, or even a singer performing in front of millions of people cheering your name.
I personally will never forget the time I saw an Avengers movie for the first time. I fondly remember leaping off the couch and yelling to my mom, “When I grow up, I want to be a superhero just like them.”
She looked at me and said, “Cayden, grow up. You graduate next week.”
Now looking back on these goals, we see just how, absurd some of them really are. But absurd doesn’t mean impossible. Yes, these ambitions may seem difficult, but who says we don’t have what it takes? We hear of something as big as changing the world and think, “Obviously, that won’t be us.” But why not? Heck, just by finishing high school we are already better off than some of the greats like Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, and Steve Jobs who never even received high school diplomas. So what’s stopping us? Fear? No self-confidence? Lack of drive? My fellow classmates, life is tough. We’ve all had our fair share of challenges to deal with, but if we want true success, we have to be willing to push through any of these obstacles that get in our way. As street poet and philosopher Drake once said, “Oh well, I guess you lose some and win some. Long as the outcome is income. You know I want it all and then some.”
While the idea of getting rich and having material success may seem tempting, I ask that you all follow your own dreams and do what it is that makes you happy. Build a legacy that will be looked up to for countless generations to come. Make an impact that your parents, your kids, your grandkids, and most importantly you would be proud of. And remember, be phenomenal, or be forgotten. Congratulations, class of 2021.