Despite being a magician, a performer, and your last speaker for the morning announcements, I used to fear speaking in front of large crowds. Now as I speak before you, I still fear speaking in front of large crowds. So I would like to talk about something I am comfortable with, and that’s change.

If you haven’t seen Toy Story 3 yet I advise you to do so right after we leave instead of going to a party, and I challenge you to cry less than I did (mumbles “twice”). At the end of the movie, as Andy leaves for college, he decides to give his toys to a little girl in the neighborhood. Andy graduated from high school, and his toys graduated from him. They are in a new home with new challenges to face, new people to meet, and new roles to fulfill. I guess we will see how that goes in Toy Story 4. But in a broad sense, we too are graduating from more than just high school. We are graduating from youth, from our parents and guardians, from our hometown, and from fast metabolisms. For some of us, everything will change.

In the next few years of our lives we will encounter new challenges, meet new people, and fulfill new roles in society, just as the toys did. But let us also not forget our past and all of those who helped us along the way. I ask that you please thank these next few people with applause. For our parents and relatives who dedicated their love and devotion to us. For our friends who were there for us and helped make us who we are today. And lastly to our educators who prepared us not just for college but for the rest of our lives.

I also ask that you remember the significant achievements of our class such as seniors in Track, Cross-Country, Poms, Tennis, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Speech Team, and Mathletes all making it to their state finals, as well as the football team making it into playoffs, the Marching Band and Color Guard placing 1^st at the Marengo Settlers Days Competition, two senior individuals making it to the All State Choir, students in industrial technology classes winning the I.D.E.A. Competition, and many more seniors placing in sectionals and regionals for their respective groups as well. Let’s give them a round of applause.

So just like in Toy Story 3 when they remember they once were Andy’s toys, let us too remember we were once high schoolers, kids, and crying bald babies. We have grown so much, but there is still so much room to grow. I may fear speaking, but I tackle my fear, I embrace change, and I continue to grow. We should all embrace change and “reach for the sky” as Woody would say. So I challenge you, Class of 2014, to remember the past, but to tackle the future, and if you do, we can all make it to infinity and beyond.