Mr. Principal, teachers, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, fellow graduates.
Well, here we are almost at the close of our graduation exercise. I never thought I would make it this far. I'm really not sure how I got to address you, tonight. I looked up the word "valedictorian" and the definition read – "The person chosen to give the farewell address at the graduation ceremonies, usually the person who ranks highest in academic standing." Pause! Well . . I tried to tell them there was some mistake.
You know, it's really quite funny how we can come and go from these hallowed halls for two hundred and some odd days of the year, and never really be aware of them. But now that we know we're leaving the old alma mater, we seem to notice everything for the first time. Now, it seems we can't walk down the halls without recollecting some incident or spotting some room that we will possibly remember for the rest of our lives. The past few years are going to serve as the memories that we will tell and retell to our children and grandchildren, as our parents and grandparents do to us today. And they will serve as the "good old days" when years from now, we reminisce with our old school buddies. I didn't really realize the real significance of these past few years, until I sat down to compose this address to you, and I suppose most of us are in the same state, as yet. It seems funny doesn't it, that these years we've sometimes complained about so bitterly, will actually be so meaningful and so important in our futures? And they are going to be meaningful and important, for our lives are built on the past, and isn't the past really a collection of memories?
The past will soon be so inviting, that many will wish they were young again. Young again, so they could enjoy more fully their comparatively carefree youth, young again so they could have a second try at the things they thought they could never do, and young again so they could do a better job the second time around. Yes – inevitably time will pass, and we will wish we could go back and start again. Start again, trying Grades I and II, without coming home at recess, and trying Grade III, and staying home at recess! These past few years will probably be the years we remember the most. You night remember something like writing the same exam two or three years in a row – and failing every one! Or attending graduation exercises the second time, or as in my case, being the valedictorian for your class. So cherish your memories, remember the fun, remember lessons well learned, both at school and at home, remember the good times and the bad, for all too soon they will be stories we tell our children.
Enough said for the past Life is also made up of the present and future, and probably right now the most significant is the present, which also, I think, at this point very much includes the future.
Complementing our physical growth throughout the scant years of our lives, there has also been – to some extent – mental growth. Soon we will be facing the many challenges of a changing world; we will probably be engaged in some field where our ability to reason, to apply our learning, and to think for ourselves, will definitely be put to the ultimate test. It is our voices that will be heard and heeded. And our shouts for reform and change in the social structure, will hopefully be the keynotes for the building of a new and better world for us all to live in. With today's tendencies toward technocratic progress, some of our generation are already caught in the multi-coloured kaleidoscope of new, and revolutionary ideas. The student riots in Germany, France, and the U.S.A. show vividly the power, and thus the tremendous responsibility we, the young people of the world, possess. But – a word of warning. As your criticisms develop and take hold of your subconscious, I say to you – let not your criticisms be destructive, but rather constructive. More can be done peacefully and rationally in today's world, than by resorting to violence and destruction, which leaves only pain and disillusion. This one thought, I feel, could be the turning point in many of our young and unmarked lives. If but a few of us can come to this realization, and help to instill it in others, then I know our years here have not been wasted.
Soon we will be leaving the secure nest that our parents and teachers have provided for us, and we will have to make our own decisions about the many social, political, moral, and even economic problems that will confront us. I know one fellow who is already confronting the economic problems – and I know I speak for some of the rest of us here. Hopefully our personal code of values will survive the test of materialism.
As we leave then, some of us may experiment under various influences – note that was 'under various influences' not 'under the influence of!' While I realize that we will all go in our different ways, trying to find our own invididual purpose in life, I would like to pass on one word of advice. Before you involve yourself in any field - be sure it's what you really want – not what people want of you! It seems that too much emphasis is placed today on those little letters that should go after our names, and not enough emphasis on the integrity and sense of purpose that should go with a name. A degree is only a piece of paper, if we don't do something with it. Each of us has a gift or talent, possibly still hidden, but, nevertheless, still there – and it is our utmost responsibility, above all else, to ourselves, to take that gift or talent, no matter how little or simple it may seem to others, and develop it and utilize it to its fullest possibilities. This, I think, is our main purpose in life, the purpose that brings that elusive peace and happiness that we all seek. So be sure then that whatever you choose to do is your choice, and that you do the best you possibly can at it. Your endeavors in that choice will lead to your fulfilment and to your happiness. Of course, a choice like this can't be made on the spur of the moment, First, you must know yourself, and above all, accept yourself for what you really are. The world is full of phonies, so take pride in being yourself, and not what others want you to be. When you come to know yourself, you will be ready to know the world. In our attempts to know the world we are going to encounter many trials and blockades. Today's problems are more social then ever before. Our society is diseased with bigotry, prejudices, hypocrisy and hatred. We are battered with many inhuman philosophies and un-Christian ideas. Evil temptations to compromise our ideals lurk around every corner we turn. But we must take a stand and stand fast! We must face this world with optimism and enthusiasm, and be prepared for opposition. It will take more than a degree, and a head full of knowledge. It will take understanding and compassion; it will take an open mind and an open heart! Thinking of these things, and looking out at you tonight, I wonder at the fate of many of us. The ladder of life is both long and steep. Some may just fall off or find the journey too long, and stop and rest on one rung. But seeing you before me, I know you've made the best start and this first rung on your ladder is going to be one of the strongest. For you have started with a Grade XII education. That bottom rung will always stand, though you may break or slip on the others. You can build your life on that rung alone, or as many will do, go on in their education to build a stronger and taller ladder. Your education so far will never let you down, and for its accomplishment, I congratulate each one of you tonight.
Whether or not we continue our education, I think that possibly too many "rookie graduates", upon stepping out into the world tend to think: Well, I spent my term in that prison, now to live it up for the rest of my life! The world owes it to me. And if no-one is behind them on that first step of the ladder to give a little push, they trip and fall flat on their face. As the saying goes, some things just have to he learned the hard way, and as strange and ironic as it seems, the things we learn the hard way, we remember and appreciate the most. So just a little forewarning – With the times progressing as they are, and with us caught in the middle, we can't afford to sit back and watch life go by, for all too soon it's unreachable, Instead – we must keep up with the times, and apply our edueation and understanding, so that we are not lost in the exhaust fumes as life goes roaring by. Life is really one long learning process that should never stop. We must keep our minds open to reason, and to change - and to changing ideas. It is up to us to accept the responsibility of reform. Above all, we must live for life. Hopefully, with the knowledge and understanding we now have, and the realization that we are amidst changing times, we can change the times to our benefit and everyone elses.
But enough said of the memories of the past, the complexities of the present, and the problems in the future. Right now we're more concerned with this ceremony. I've taken a lot of your time already. If I've worked this right, it's now about Zero Hour plus eleven minutes.
On behalf of us all, I'd like to take a few minutes to say a few words about our teachers, nice words mind you. The teachers we had these years have been a rare breed – all kooks! Sometimes they have been the reason that school is such a challenge. What we try to do right for one teacher sometimes is wrong for the other. I think there is a saying to sum up our teachers. "One man's honey is another man's poison." Actually though, our teachers are the best a student could want. Their constant interest and devotion has resulted in the turning out of this graduation class, ready and eager to start life. The success of this class is to their credit, for they are the ones that have brought us to this point tonight, and I congratulate the teachers for our success.
I would like again to offer my sincere congratulations to the graduates, and my best wishes in the future. I hope your entry into life will be with an open mind and open heart as I have said I hope that you will always be able to find the good in every person and in every situation you encounter. I think we are fortunate to be graduating at this time, for we have the challenges of a new and changing world in front of us, and above all, the education, opportunity, and freedom to face and overcome those challenges. I would like to leave you tonight with a slight variation of a fumous quote, by the late John F. Kennedy
"Ask not what the world can do for you, ask what you can do for the world."
