Gradutation Speech

Here it finally is.....

Congratulations Class of 2010!

Graduation is finally here!

Now, I want you to humor me if you will, and imagine the year 2030. I know it’s hard to fathom—we never thought we’d be as old as our parents, but the day will come :) So picture our twenty year class reunion. Where do you want to be? What do you dream of accomplishing before this event in time? William Arthur Ward said “If you can imagine it you can achieve it. If you can dream it you can become it.” Every single one of us sitting here today has the potential to amount to something great and ultimately to make this world a better place. After all, we are the future, right? We are the future political leaders, the future doctors, the future business executives, the engineers, the scientists, the military, anything you name it. We are the future mothers and fathers that will mold and create the next generation. We are the heroes and heroines of the future. We are anything and everything you could possibly dream of.

I’m betting most of us have a dream. So now the question is when and how to become your dream? How? That is completely dependent upon you. When? Now. Someone once told me that “time is the wise man’s treasure,” and it is so true. This is it; the time is now to take advantage of the opportunities that surround us, the opportunities that will lead us to greatness, and the opportunities that will lead us to outstanding careers and lives. Now is the opportunity to have fun and to enjoy ourselves as we enter the so-called “real” world and experience our first taste of adulthood. Now I want to share with you a story I learned this year during my studies, a story about opportunity. There was a farmer who lived in Africa. And when this farmer learned the value of diamonds, he sold everything he owned including his farm and began to search for the diamonds. The years slipped away as he wandered the continent in search of diamonds. When none were to be found the farmer threw himself into the Tigris River and drowned. Ironically the person who purchased his farm found acre upon acre of diamonds in the backyard. This man was so enthralled with the idea of riches that he missed his opportunity; he missed the acres of diamonds.

There are acres of diamonds out there waiting for us and I hope that you will take the time to find them. Don’t miss your opportunity to be something great. Find something you are passionate about and pursue it. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn and to grow, and to discover yourself. Don’t settle for anything less than you deserve, whether you want to be the president of the United States or you want to find a cure for cancer, whether you want to serve your country or be a stay-at-home parent. I have absolute faith that no matter what it is you choose to pursue you are bound to be great.

I wish all of you the best of success as you go off to college, as you begin a family, and a career or whatever it is that you choose to pursue. I dare you to find greatness and remember that now is the time to start preparing. I dare you to dream big. Remember that the sky is the limit; there is nothing that we cannot and will not accomplish as the future. I look forward to our twenty year class reunion, and I hope to come across doctors, soldiers, fire-fighters, people who are truly passionate about their careers and their lives. Lastly, I hope you remember that we, the first graduating class of Stansbury High School are the future. The world is in our hands. The golden question is “What will you do with this opportunity?”

Congratulations class of 2010!