www.merrittherald.com
THURSDAY, June 23, 2022
B3
Valedictorian Speech
G
ood evening, Teachers, staff, administration, family, friends, and fellow graduates. It is an honor to be here in front of you today, speaking on behalf of the best grad class Merritt Secondary has ever seen but not only that, to be the first grad class to return here in this building as one. With the past few years behind us, we are here proving that we can return to a new normal. Some would say that this day is the beginning of our journey but actually our
journey started way before today. Today just happens to be the mark of when the path that we’ve travelled together splits into our own individual roads. Because up till today we were one big clan moving through high school as one and soon we will be going in all different directions creating a life for ourselves. Scary to think about but all good things must come to an end, and we must learn to move on. But first I want to bring you back approximately 13 years ago, to our first day of kindergarten where we were either mad or excited to be there or maybe crying for mom to not leave you there. But that day was the commencement of our journey. For most of you, you’ve belonged to this school district since then. Through elementary school you were probably a complete menace, and every teacher back then was happy to see you move on. But those were the days where recess felt like the best thing in the world, and you made friends with the kid who brought all the good snacks to school. Either way,
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elementary school was just the first steps of the journey. We then went on, reaching a time where five schools merged into one, at the one and only Merritt secondary. I bet the district didn’t think that though, putting everyone together to create 5x the craziness, not to mention the outsiders who joined in like myself. But it was at this place where we created friendships that will last a lifetime. Where we would come together and conquered the unimaginable over the next few years. And when I say unimaginable, I mean it. Because grade 8 us wouldn’t have thought we would have to go through a pandemic, fires, and even have the possibility of swim to our graduation day. But I’ll tell you one thing it made the years go by fast and it will be something we will never forget. When high school got tough you know you always had someone to lean on. Because let’s be real if you had to go through high school alone, we wouldn’t have made it. I want you to look at whose sitting beside you and remember all the memories, big or small, that you at with
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them. Each memory is something you will be able to tell your kids about. Just like how our parents told us about their high school days. And for ones saying there never having kids, I know you’ll be sitting at a fire 20 years from now telling the people around you about the good old days. And for the people who don’t want to remember high school, that your own thoughts because this place is a valuable part of our journey but just a small piece for what we have ahead of us. The hardest thing about leaving high school will be saying goodbye to the people in it. I’m not taking about the ones sitting beside you but the people you pass in the hallway on your way to class. We won’t be able to just go visit our favourite teacher anymore when we were supposed to be in washroom. Your usual lunch dates will change, and we won’t have to listen to “we didn’t start the fire” for fiches socials class. As for the people that have been supporting you all this time, they will still be there, you just won’t see them every day.
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