Hi everyone, and welcome to the graduation for the Prairie Ridge Class of 2013. Most of you know me to have been very involved in theater and music these past four years at PR. I am very comfortable performing and singing in front of large audiences. However, as I started to plan my speech, I must admit for the first time, I felt a little anxious and at a loss for words. My performances always involve memorizing a script or learning words to a song that has already been written. Now I had to write my own script. I thought, “how should I address my fellow classmates, teachers, and all the families today?” I had to think of something inspirational and thoughtful, yet original. Then it came to me! A close family friend, who is sitting in the audience today, said something inspirational during a recent visit. She asked me, “If you were to design a T-Shirt with two words on it to represent you and your life, what would it say?” This question forces you to think about what’s important to you and who you want to be. As we lived through our high school years, we all had an image we wanted to portray. Looking back, we probably would all agree that the words we would put on our T-Shirts today are very different from those we would have chosen freshman year. These past four years have been a time of growth, learning, and development. The teachers and faculty at PR, as well as our families, have helped us grow into who we are and realize who we want to be as we leave high school. So, I ask you: “What would your two words be?” Mine would be “Spend Wisely”. For me, this applies to many aspects of my life: money, time, love, and energy. My experiences at PR have helped me learn how to “spend wisely”.
As we begin our lives as high school graduates, we will encounter challenges in our futures. Some of you may be interested in pushing the boundaries of those challenges. For you, your two words might be “Hashtag YOLO”. For those of you who don’t know that acronym, YOLO stands for “you only live once”. If those two words define you now, they may change in the future. YOLO is fun to use when you’re joking around; but if it becomes a legitimate excuse, you may be in trouble. That T-Shirt comes with a lot of life lessons; however, life lessons can be good! YOLO is a reminder than an important part of life is having fun, and we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously.
Maybe your shirt would say “Give Back”. This implies that you live with responsibility and care for others. If you wear this T-Shirt, you probably have goals to accomplish great things in your community. Or maybe your T-Shirt would say “Dream Big”. I think this should be the undertone of everyone’s shirt! It should be stitched into the fabric, no matter what two-word phrase is on the front. Dreaming big applies to your career, your family, and your personal life. With this shirt you will realize your full capabilities and live a rich and exciting life.
So, as you begin your future, think about the image you want to portray. Live a life you’re willing to broadcast with your words, your actions, and your T-Shirt. The teachers and experiences we have had at PR these past 4 years have provided the thread with which to make the shirts for our futures. The style of the shirt and the words on the front are up to you. Today is the day we start designing our T-Shirts: what will yours say?