an easier time than those in my same grade and I had the motivation to strive for the goal. I think it was in sophomore year that I had made being valedictorian my goal, and made my schedule as hard as it could possibly be.
There are heaps of expectations set onto you. And well, people probably overestimate me. At least that’s what I personally feel. There are plenty of things that don’t come out the way I want. I do try to meet those expectations with the best of my abilities though. It’d probably be best to think of valedictorians as regular people too, haha. But… some of them are just quite above the norm.
During the graduation ceremony, the valedictorian is required to make a speech to the class and those attending. And I do must say these speeches are quite cliched. “Good luck in life” “You can do it” “Believe in yourself” “This isn’t the end of your life, there’s more to it” “Onwards to the next chapter” Just the usual things that would be said at the end of high school. Since it’s an opportunity to speak to the whole class, you get to crack a few jokes and say a few shoutouts to the whole class. How you write it is up to you, and what you probably worry about the most is to not make it boring or that people don’t react in the way you wish them to. It takes a decent amount of thinking and originality to write it, and I had a bit of fun. I was quite glad that people enjoyed my speech, it meant a lot to me. There are plenty of valedictorians that wait until the week before to start on their speech, and this I’m sure of. There are plenty of metaphors that people use which you can find on youtube. Some of quite unique and original in the way they present their speech even if it is cliche.
Becoming valedictorian was an achievement that I won’t forget for the rest of my life, even as I grow old. It was a part of my journey through high school, full of ups and no regrets. People see me as that one brilliant and intelligent dude who they can talk to. Do I dislike this image? Not really, rather I like it. I’m happy to be a person people can trust, and to be remembered as such. Who knows what will happen in college? I say that people overestimate me, but it could be just that I’m underestimating myself. Staying too humble and insecure. My life’s been a great ride, and it has yet to reach the end. I’m not even truly an adult yet!
background: theodysseyonline.com
top: nedbatt.com bottom: maxresdefault