Parents, Teachers, Friends, and to the Graduating class of '09, I say hello. Welcome.

When I was told that I would be giving this speech, my first thought was oh how exciting. Later, that OOH feeling turned into ooohhh nervous terror, mostly in part to a reoccurring nightmare about forgetting my dress and having to deliver this speech naked. Let’s just say that I am very happy to have clothes on right now. But no I started to feel nervous because I started to think how on earth am I going to represent 43 other smart, independent girls in a 5 minute speech that is funny yet heartfelt? It is moments like this where you tend to fall back on what you have learned in school, and the most important thing I learned here at SMS was do your research. So, I did my research — I youtubed valedictorian speeches. It’s becoming a very reliable source nowadays I’ve found. There were good ones, really bad ones, and there was this one guy who did an interpretive dance for his speech. I actually strongly considered that route. Strongly considered. But I digress.

In addition, I decided to use another skill I learned here at SMS. I did a survey. Now, of all things, why would I do a survey? Well that’s a good question- I did a survey, to find out just who I was representing here today. Not, who, like name-wise, rather WHO these girls in front of you are. Well, ladies and gentlemen before you are (potentially) five doctors, one of them with doctors without borders. There is also one politician, one reporter, who might end up writing about that politician, one physicist, one scientist, two anthropologists, one criminal profiler, one writer, two economists and one interior designer. There are three lawyers, one of whom might end up working for the one Nike executive. There’s a film star, two businesswomen, one hotel manager, two teachers, one artist, one sasquatch tracker, who might have a movie made about her by one of the two film directors. We have one engineer, one model/scientist, one banker, one mother, two trophy wives and finally, someone who just wants to be successful. Don’t we all.

I can’t imagine graduating with anyone other than these girls that sit up here with me. We had good times, we had bad times, we had times where you just wanted to stay in the lounge and sleep, which was most of the time. It’s funny how most, including myself, waited until this year to say hey, I’m leaving. Maybe I should get to know these people. It’s funny how life works that way, but I’m glad it did, because I’ve found we’re not all that different from one another. When the bell went after lunch, we would all continue to sit there and talk, or sleep, or whatever, and then when second bell went and everyone else was already starting, we would begrudgingly heave ourselves off the couches and into class. Or, the night before the big English essay was due – it was comforting to see that 12 other people were freaking out as much as I was, with statuses of OMG English Essay rampant across my Facebook news feed. Guys, we had a good run, and frankly I’m going to miss that.

This is the point in the speech where I offer some helpful, inspirational, possibly profound advice to future SMS graduates, from what I’ve learned in my years in these hallowed halls. Number one, no matter how much fun it is, procrastination does not help as much as you think it does. That said, I’ve found you’re at your most insightful at one in the morning (when the majority of this speech was written), you’re at your least insightful during first period math.. oh and no matter how hard it hurts, calculus cannot make your brain explode (it has been tested). Love your friends, love your enemies, love your family, love your dog, love your teachers, love the janitor, love everyone and everything that has ever helped shape you into the person you’ve become, including yourself, cause well if you don’t love yourself then you’re pretty much done for.

But to my fellow grads, I needn’t give you advice. In fact, just to throw a little cliché into the ring, you’ve taught me more about surviving life than any textbook could, or will. Just know that I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished this year. In fact, I’m so proud, that I’d throw my graduation cap in the air for you, if I was wearing one, which I’m obviously not. But just know that deep inside my metaphorical grad cap is way high in the air.