S OUTHWEST L EGACY H IGH S CHOOL

Good evening friends, family, faculty, staff, and fellow graduates of Southwest Legacy’s Class of 2023. My name is Laura Lopez.

It is my pleasure and honor to stand here today and give this speech as the Class of 2023 Valedictorian. As we begin tonight’s celebration, I want to congratulate every one of you for reaching this milestone, this achievement that took so much hard work, so much dedication, and sacrifice. This celebration shows that all of that was not in vain. Give yourselves a big round of applause. We must keep in mind to celebrate nights like this as we go forward since milestones like these could pass us by.

After this night, the next chapter of our lives will begin. Although the adult world will not be easy, it will be full of opportunities and new things. Although it can and will be a scary journey, it is ultimately up to us how we decide to react to our circumstances and what we choose to do about them. We must remember to not compare ourselves to other people or their achievements. What we go through is exclusively our own and has shaped us into the person we want to be. It is our own unique story.

During our time at Southwest Legacy, we have learned many lessons. I know I can not summarize everyone’s unique experiences, but I can say that we have all learned at least one thing that we can take away. Our school, staff, faculty, and teachers have done an amazing job at ensuring our high school experience was the best it could be. I’m so grateful for all of the exceptional staff at Southwest Legacy and I know there is at least one staff member that came to mind when thinking back at our school. Thank you to you all for leaving such a lasting impact on us. I want each and everyone one of you to take the time to thank someone special in your life, whether they are here with us right now or not.

I want to thank each of our families and those special people that have influenced our lives and have been our biggest motivators and supporters. I would like to thank my friends for always making life fun and being there for me, my mariachi family for all of the experiences we lived through together during these past 4 years, my teachers and counselors for helping me through anything I stumbled upon, and my boyfriend for always being there for me and caring for me. Sobre todo, quiero agradecer a mi familia por haber hecho esto posible, sin su apoyo y dedicación a mi educación no estaría donde estoy hoy. Quiero agradecer a mis padres, a mi hermano, y a toda mi familia porque gracias a su apoyo y amor pude lograr ser la persona que soy y agradecerles por siempre recordarme que puedo cumplir mis metas con dedicación. Quiero tomar este momento para agradecer a las familias que no entienden muy bien el inglés y agradecerles de parte de sus hijos, ya se que ustedes han hecho un buen trabajo y deberían estar orgullosos de ustedes mismos.

All of us sitting here today have shaped Legacy into the special place it is today. Without us, this institution would be just that, a school, but rather we were able to make this a place where people would look forward to attending, either for events, clubs, organizations, or just for learning.

I know that the road ahead of us won’t be easy, but I know we can push through everything life hits us with. A quote I like from Michael Joseph says “Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey.” Although life won’t be easy, don’t forget to always live your life. It was an honor to represent Southwest Legacy’s Class of 2023 with this speech. Remember that you can achieve anything you want but don’t forget to live life in the process. Congratulations everyone.