Senior Year Box Set

They directed us all to go to the old gym and line up alphabetically. While we did that, our friends and family were taking their seats in the field house where our commencement would be held.

“Everyone!” Vice Principal Palm called out to get our attention. “I want to give you all a quick rundown on what’s going to happen today.”

As I glanced around, it looked like everyone was fidgeting. I agreed; let’s get this over with.

“You’ll walk in to where you are to sit but remain standing. Next, the faculty will be introduced. Once that’s done, you can sit down. There will be welcoming remarks followed by the presentation of your diploma. What will happen is your name will be called, you will walk across the stage, shake Principal Borman’s hand with your right hand, and accept your diploma with the left. Then you’ll pause for your picture to be taken. Finally, you’ll move your tassel to the other side to indicate that you’ve graduated,” Vice Principal Palm explained.

We’d all seen how this worked, so I was ready to go.

“After you’ve all returned to your seats, there will be a keynote address from a guest speaker, followed by the valedictory address. When that’s done, your teachers will lead you out,” he concluded.

Vice Principal Palm’s phone must have vibrated because he pulled it out of his pocket to check it.

“Okay, everybody, it’s showtime,” he announced and led us to the field house.

◊◊◊

The ceremony ran according to plan, with everyone getting their moment in the sun. The keynote address was given by some guy they dug up who fancied himself a motivational speaker. Frankly, he was a cliché machine and became amusing. One of his gems was, ‘It’s not the number of breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away.’ Then there was my personal favorite, ‘You have to look through the rain to see the rainbow.’

After that yawn fest, he’d set the bar really low for me, so there was a silver lining.

“And now, I want to welcome to the stage an extraordinary young man, your valedictorian, David Dawson,” Principal Borman announced.

I strode out across the stage, thanked the principal, shook his hand, and took the podium. I smiled at everyone as they applauded. While I waited for the clapping to subside, I spotted my family in the stands. Then I noticed the TV cameras in the back, filming. That cut my list of topics a bit. When I said I would wing my speech, I really hadn’t meant it. But I’d never put it all down on paper, so here went nothing.

“I had a speech prepared but forgot to bring it. I hope that’s okay with everyone,” I said, which generated a few chuckles.

Mr. Palm looked like he might become ill. His plan for controlling every little detail of today’s festivities had just flown out the window.

“The original speech talked about how we are on the cusp of the rest of our lives, ready to face the world, and blah, blah, blah.”

Mr. Palm stood up. To do what, I wasn’t sure, but I needed to move this along.

“All right, let’s all be real here. We all know that graduation is a rite of passage of sorts. Different cultures commemorate their children becoming adults in different ways. We don’t really have anything official like some others have, so this is probably the closest thing. Soon, many of you will be off to college, while others will move into your parents’ basement to haunt them for the next twenty years,” I said. I paused when that brought a good-natured laugh.

One of the dads shouted out that that would happen over his dead body.

“As I listened to our keynote speaker, I was reminded of a cheesy poster I once saw. It said, ‘You are where you are because of the decisions you’ve made. The choice has always been yours to make. Either choose to be great or choose to be a waste.’ It may be cheesy, but it contains an element of truth. When you walk out these doors for the last time, how your life turns out will be determined by your choices,” I said, warming to my topic.

“Right before I entered high school, I got myself into a spot of trouble. Because of that, I was shipped to my uncle’s farm for the summer to be free child labor. After the first few days, I was exhausted, and every muscle in my body ached. It was so bad that even my teeth hurt. He worked me so hard that I was no longer able to think straight. More importantly, he did it so that I would quit focusing on how none of what was happening in my life was my fault.

“That was when my uncle launched his diabolical plan that ended up changing my life. He made me take a serious look at who I was, which I quickly figured out showed I wasn’t who I wanted to be. With that realization, he helped me discover who I wanted to become and gave me the tools to achieve it via life goals.

“My uncle also taught me some important truths. The biggest one was that I was responsible for my own destiny. Along the way, I learned a phrase that has stuck with me: ‘If it is to be, it is up to me,’” I said.

Then I paused to make sure I was getting through to my classmates.