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Cody Craig 
Good evening fellow graduates, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen.
We have finally made it, and it took a long time to get this far. I am sure some people are glad to see some of us leave, as we were a rambunctious group ... but you cannot say we did not bring excitement to the school! Tonight is a night to celebrate and remember, but it is also a night to mourn, as our time together is coming to an end. A new and unique future awaits each of us, but it's the past we recall tonight. I would like to share with you the words of Winston Churchill who once said, "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning." Our graduation tonight marks the end of the beginning. We have finished the preparatory years of our lives. Now we move on to the next phase in our lives, the start of a new beginning, a new adventure. Even though we have completed one stage of our lives, we are simply taking a step into this new beginning. Life is full of stepping-stones, and we are ready for the next step into our future. Of course our real beginning started at birth, and during this stage our parents had the greatest impact on us. It was they who taught us all we learned during those first five years of our lives - how to walk, talk and find our place in the world. They began building and shaping our unique personalities as no one else could. From them we learned right from wrong, social manners and respect for self and others. Children absorb and decipher the world through first hand experience, but it is the parents who provide the background for each new adventure. These experiences helped shape and mould each of us. We owe our parents a debt of gratitude; they set the framework of who we were to become. As this period of life ended, a bright new beginning lay in wait for us - elementary school. Here we were introduced to scheduled routines, group dynamics, and formal learning. Elementary school was full of fun times and exciting activities with hosts of new friends. We had small parties, lots of physical activities, and learned the joys of working together. We dreamt of becoming famous actors, or rock stars, or professional athletes - the world opened up for us. We imagined ourselves as super-heroes in a world without limits, ambition impeded only by our own desires. We dreamt of our futures even then. As elementary school ended, a new beginning replaced it - Junior high. Sports and competitiveness were introduced, and hormones hit. We felt a need to rebel, to act out, to try new things, and to take risks. Wrong was done, mistakes were made, and consequences resulted. We questioned everything and searched for meaning in school, at home, and in relationships. We dreamt of school being over, and looked at what life had to offer. Still we kept learning, adding knowledge and experience to strengthen our lives. In high school we learned independence, self-reliance, and personal responsibility. Sure, there were still teachers and parents telling us what to do, but now we had some choice in which classes we took. We broadened our minds and became aware of new theories, themes and principles. Junior high provided the basics; senior high broadened the awareness. Competitiveness was taken to a new level. Academic success and scholarship requirements became an ever-present pressure guiding our actions. Competitiveness ruled our lives as the future called out to us. Tonight we cannot help but wonder what our futures will be. We must learn to live one day at a time and not take life for granted. As Andrew Marvell once wrote: "But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near." Time passes by so quickly, and we must not get left behind. Life must be lived to the fullest, our potentials reached each and every day. We have learned what we needed to know to begin our journey into the real world. We have completed this phase of our lives and are ready to move onto the next. We look upon it with trepidation, but hope that what lies ahead of us brings joy and personal success. The past 18 years have provided the basis for this as we acknowledge that tonight marks the "end of the beginning". Today is the tomorrow we dreamed of yesterday. I wish all the best of luck to the Graduating Class of 2002. Thank you and good night. |