Graduation Speech: Tonight We Cross the Finish Line :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Congratulations, County High Class of 2012, our thirteen-year marathon is over. Some of you may know I am a distance runner, part of an immensely successful cross-country and distance track program. We were fourth at the state cross-country championships, and we are the best senior boys team in the state. My involvement in athletics truly linked me with our school and granted me friends whom I will remember for a lifetime. One of the most important aspects of my time in high school was getting involved. Wherever your next journey takes you, don't sit back and watch the action. Take the initiative and you will experience the benefits. Just look around you. These are the people you grew up with, the people you were teammates with and the people you have survived dozens of classes with for the last four years. They are not merely faces in a yearbook. They are your people, your community, your family. They are the greatest benefit of being involved. Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them. However, along with the team element, we must remember one notion. Live life for you. Expect more out of yourself. Expect to reach the finish line, expect to finish first and expect to finish in one piece. Don't live your life striving to fulfill the expectations of your parents, your professors or your bosses. Live up to your own. Raise your expectations. Exceed them. Reach your potential. Now I have one thing to ask of you. Tonight, as we cross this finish line before us and set forth upon our next journey, strive to make a difference. Get involved to make our country a better place. Use teamwork to bring our people and the whole world together. I know to me personally, making a difference in our country and our world is paramount. Next week, I leave for the United States Military Academy at West Point, N. Graduation Speech: Tonight We Cross the Finish Line :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address Congratulations, County High Class of 2012, our thirteen-year marathon is over. Some of you may know I am a distance runner, part of an immensely successful cross-country and distance track program. We were fourth at the state cross-country championships, and we are the best senior boys team in the state. My involvement in athletics truly linked me with our school and granted me friends whom I will remember for a lifetime. One of the most important aspects of my time in high school was getting involved. Wherever your next journey takes you, don't sit back and watch the action. Take the initiative and you will experience the benefits. Just look around you. These are the people you grew up with, the people you were teammates with and the people you have survived dozens of classes with for the last four years. They are not merely faces in a yearbook. They are your people, your community, your family. They are the greatest benefit of being involved. Another concept I have learned from my participation in running is teamwork. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live our lives without others' help or without helping others. We must work together to succeed on the road ahead. This is the essence of teamwork. I know that even my personal success in cross-country and track is not solely mine. I know that my three district titles, one in cross country and two in track, in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs, could not have been accomplished without my team's unequivocal support and for that, I thank them. However, along with the team element, we must remember one notion. Live life for you. Expect more out of yourself. Expect to reach the finish line, expect to finish first and expect to finish in one piece. Don't live your life striving to fulfill the expectations of your parents, your professors or your bosses. Live up to your own. Raise your expectations. Exceed them. Reach your potential. Now I have one thing to ask of you. Tonight, as we cross this finish line before us and set forth upon our next journey, strive to make a difference. Get involved to make our country a better place. Use teamwork to bring our people and the whole world together. I know to me personally, making a difference in our country and our world is paramount. Next week, I leave for the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.