12
june5
2014
Farewell
I thought a long time about what I wanted to say
to all of you today. I wanted to be funny, I wanted
to sound mature. I wanted to inspire you, to make
you laugh, or, yes, even make you cry. But I’m just
the Valedictorian. The only reason I’m standing
in front of you today is because I got good
grades. And trust me, if I’d known that my GPA
would determine whether or not I had to speak in
front of hundreds of people, I might have done a
few things differently.
Yet here I am today, standing in front of
you. It feels strange, being at the grand age of
18--and really, I’m younger than most of my class
anyways, so what advice could I possibly have to
offer that would motivate our class? So I decided
to start my speech off of a simple piece of logic:
“Almost everything we need to know in life, we
learned in Mr. Brown’s class.” Confused? Don’t
worry, I’ll explain:
For the first time in several years, the
entire senior class (minus the foreign exchange
students), was placed in a single classroom for
World Literature, every day. Now you’re probably
asking yourself, “who in the world is brave enough
to handle us?” Because, let’s face it, we’re a very….
unique group of students. But that person was Mr.
Brown, and somehow he managed to tango with us
for an entire year.
Our class became very fond of Mr. Brown,
and I think we all agree that we grew much closer
together as a class, and as a family, during those
rough fourth periods. But Mr. Brown probably
didn’t realize that we were learning much more in
his class.
We learned:
1. It is never too late to become a connoisseur
of the English language.
2. You can never watch a movie with the volume
up too loud--if it’s too loud, you’re too old.
3. Working hard will move you forward in life,
but running cross country will get you there faster.
4. Don’t make the same mistake twice, and if you
do, don’t make it a third time..So don’t cheat--
and if you do cheat, don’t cheat next time.
5. Lies only exist if you believe in them--For
example, there is no such thing as magic! Except
for the card game.
6. EVERYTHING can be associated with
logging metaphors.
7. Fear is the root of all evil: especially the three
check mark system.
8. Define your own rules for success: if a book
is longer than 300 pages, it can also be 2
books.
9. Be resourceful--if a large water jug breaks
open on the floor, use a sweatshirt to soak up
the water--also, don’t ask Bridger to mop.
10. You’re never too old for a timeout.
11. Follow your gut--you’ll thank yourself
later. If someone tells you to answer 3 questions
Ani Danielyan
Heather Patton
so you can leave class early, don’t fall for it: it’s a
trap to keep you in class longer.
12. If you don’t know an answer to a jeopardy
question, compliment Brown’s mustache. You
might just get “brownie points”.
13. Don’t take your life too seriously, because no
one else does, meaning that public humiliation must
be good for you.
14. Bad words aren’t bad words unless Brown
hears them.
15. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good, and putting
tape on the bottom of Mr. Brown’s mouse is
always funny, no matter how many times you do it.
Are you crying yet? No? I guess I’ll keep
going then…
Now, I’d like to take you on a journey
back in time--12 years ago. We’re in Mrs. Nice’s
kindergarten class, writing our letters, crying
because we miss our mommies and daddies, and
making stone soup. We don’t really know anyone,
and we feel as though the world revolves around
what we’re having for lunch.
Let’s fast forward to 3rd grade. We’ve gotten used
to waking up early every morning, we’ve made
friends, and we’ve discovered “silent ball”. Before
long, we’ve learned our multiplication tables, how
to write in cursive, and how to throw the ball at
someone just right to get them out, make them cry,
or both.
We’re now in middle school. We go to
outdoor school where Mr. Ward and Mr. Schwartz
try to convince us to shower and use deodorant
because, well, we stink. Girls and boys no longer
have cooties, and we are thrust into the whirlwind
of teenage drama.
Tyler Kent
Katerina Brejchova & Sam Hout
Now we’re freshman. We feel like we are
on top of the world, but after homecoming week,
we realize it is not the case. We’ve successfully
mastered the art of personal hygiene, and have
reached the full capacity of teenage drama.
And now we’re seniors. There are so
many cliche phrases I could say, but I’m afraid
none of them really fit what we’re all feeling
right now. We’ve gone from diapers to caps and
gowns. I said earlier that I wanted to inspire you. I
wish I could tell you everything gets easier from
here on out, but honestly it doesn’t. For the next
ten years, we will be making the biggest, most life-
changing decisions ever. Think about it: where
will you be? Some of us will have families, some
of us will be college graduates. Some of us will
have our dream jobs, or maybe our dream car. But
my advice to you is simple, and maybe even a little
silly. But I hope you’ll take it seriously, or at least
as seriously as you can. Remember, I’m just the
valedictorian.
“Live YOUR life”. Don’t ever let
someone tell you how to live. Your story is
unique, and nobody can determine your ending
for you. Remember those plot diagrams we made
in Mrs. McSwain’s class in 6th grade? Every
protagonist has trials to overcome, like, say,
writing a speech for graduation, before we reach
our climax. Graduating high school is just the
beginning. Our story isn’t over. But we’re ready
to turn the page. We’ve spent our whole lives
preparing for this moment. So just remember,
ladies and gentlemen, almost everything we
need to know in life, we learned in Mr. Brown’s
class. Thank you.
Laura Rice
Valedictorian
Class Off ic
ers
Jessica Gardn
er, President
Tori Dalebrou
x, Vice Presid
ent
Jacob Medea
ris, Secretary
/Treasurer
Ho
nor Graduate
s
Laura Marie
R
ic
e
Timothy Willia
m Jennings, II
Jessica Marie
Gardn
Stephanie Cas er
tro
Sarah Rebecca
W
agner
Nation
al Honors So
ciety Membe
rs
Jessic
a Marie Gard
ner
Laura Marie
R
ic
e
Timothy Willia
m Jennings, II
MaCayla Fennell
Bo Clark
Peter Atkinson
Jennifer Hayes
Shavarsh Muradyan & Andrea Lezama
Jerimiah Hammons
Nikita McCord
