Graduation is in the air for many young individuals right now, and it brought me to reminisce about my own experiences in high school.  I am proud to say I was a Valedictorian and I wanted to share my speech from my graduation night.  I think that I have become a much better writer over the past 29 years, but I am still proud of this endeavor.  One of the pieces of literature we read in Senior English was Macbeth, which I loved.  Macbeth’s soliloquy gave me inspiration to add into my own speech.

We have come here tonight to bid a fond farewell to our school.  We have shared sports, academics, and other activities that will be recorded time we will not forget.  These activities made us strong, molded us into what we are today, and what we will become in the future.

Our yesterdays of elementary and junior high started to shape us, to give us the foundation we needed to carry on with high standards and a solid Christian background.  The paths we’ve walked have been long and hard, but they have also been short and fun.  These paths were a brief candle that lighted the experiences of high school.  They are candles which will gutter out tonight, as we use them to light the candles of adulthood.  It is an adulthood for which Elliston Baptist Academy has fully prepared us and the flame of its candle will burn bright because of the knowledge and values we learned here.

This new experience contains college, career, responsibilities, and for some, marriage.  Some of us have decided on our goals, and some haven’t, but we all know that the road to becoming a strong, independent adult will not be easy and our goals will not be easy to achieve.  But with the spirit and energy we have gleaned from these halls, I know we can earn anything we desire.  The class of 1989 has had its hour upon the stage of childhood, much of it was spent at Elliston Baptist Academy where the classrooms and extracurricular activities have prepared us for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow…