The Graduation Speech I Would Give

Senior year closed its doors before our feet even got out.

Our books still in our lockers, our hearts still in its walls, hundreds of moments incomplete. No matter how many times every day we'd say, "I can't wait to go home," there was always the excitement of senior nights, prom, senior field trips and of course – graduation.

For so many of us, the one thing pushing us through high school was the anticipation of finally walking across that stage and being handed our diploma. Even though it may still happen in a few months or a year, it won't be the same.

No last day of school, no last senior night, no last pep rally.

We might not get these lasts, but let's let this become the last time we take something so expected for granted; the last time we say, "Of course that'll happen. It always does." Let this be the last time we're so focused on making it to the other side that we forget about the days in between; the last time we forget to enjoy the moments we have because we expect to have dozens more.

All most of us seniors want is one more day at school.

One more day to say goodbye to everyone, to thank our teachers and to walk through those halls one last time still a student. We won’t get that, but at the end of the day, that’s life. It's something we can't change, but we can change what our next four years look like, what our next four days look like, what our next four minutes will look like.

After all, what we think is what we become. What we focus on becomes our reality.

Imagine you're watching a movie with someone narrating every moment. If their voice is optimistic and content, the movie leaves you feeling nostalgic, beneficial and happy. If their voice is frustrated, pessimistic and stressed, the movie leaves you feeling anxious, sad, restricted. In this part of our movies, let's focus on what helps us move forward and not turn around.

Let's focus on making these next four seconds, weeks and months the best we've ever had.

Not because they are, but because we want them to be.

We, the class of 2020, have been forced to learn something most people don't fully realize until they're much older – everything you've been working towards could be gone in a second. So let's enjoy the time we have.

Let's savor the firsts that could also be our lasts, because no one gets the promise of tomorrow.

Class of 2020, this isn't the end of our lasts. This is just the beginning.

This post was originally published by Haute Hijab as a part of their "Honoring Our 2020 Graduates-Here Are the Speeches They Wanted To Give" article. The original can be found at https://www.hautehijab.com/blogs/hijab-fashion/the-graduation-speech-they-wanted-to-give-honoring-our-2020-graduates?_pos=1&_sid=290a695fa&_ss=r

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