Graduating Class of 2023 salutatorian speech

By Josie Griffin
Posted 5/30/23

Faculty, students, parents and friends welcome, and thank you for joining the Class of 2023 to celebrate our high school graduation. We never thought this day would come. Many of us have looked …

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Graduating Class of 2023 salutatorian speech

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Faculty, students, parents and friends welcome, and thank you for joining the Class of 2023 to celebrate our high school graduation. We never thought this day would come. Many of us have looked forward to graduating for years, but now that it is here, I am sad it is. We have always been told high school will fly by, but I didn’t think it would go by this quickly. For many of us, school has been full of good memories that are unfortunately coming to an end. For the past 13 years this has been our class, and today is the last day we are spending together before going many different directions. I have enjoyed the time I got to spend with each of you these past 13 years. I hope our good memories will be carried into the next chapter of our lives and that there are many more to come. While graduation represents success, it is also the end of an era and means leaving friends, family, teachers and mentors who changed our lives forever.

But alas, we did it. Now, high school was full of ups and downs. It was full of wisdom and yet foolishness at the same time. It was exciting to get to go to school everyday and yet we dreaded it too. When the whole world was placed in front of us, at times, the overwhelming possibilities made it seemed like we had nothing at all. But here we are. I am proud of each and every one of you sitting here today. No matter what direction your path took and what bumps you overcame on the way, all of our paths led here. I’m happy to see us all sitting together one last time for this momentous occasion.

But of course, we wouldn’t be sitting here without help from some of the amazing school staff members and everybody else who played a big role in our lives. Thanks to those who taught us valuable life lessons that we will take with us into adulthood. Thanks to those who gave us the knowledge we needed to get through high school to graduation and who pushed us on to do bigger and better things afterwards. And lastly, thanks to the friends and family who encouraged and guided us along the way and who we wouldn’t be here without. You truly mean the world to us.

Whether you love school and you’re going to keep going for eight more years, or you hated it and Thursday was your last day of school, you made it and you deserve this. Going forward in our lives, I know that each of you can achieve great things if you set your mind to it. Don’t be afraid to set those lofty goals that you think you may not achieve because you just might surprise yourself. Like it’s said, “Shoot for the moon and you’ll still land among the stars.” 

Or maybe you are going to be an astronaut and you’ll actually reach the moon, who knows. Many of us wish we had branched out more or tried more new things during high school, so if I leave you with one piece of advice, let it be this: don’t be afraid to try new things or do what you like whether you are good at it or not. Don’t be afraid to draw stick figures, run slowly or sing off key. You don’t have to be talented to have a good time. And remember, take the risk or lose the chance.

But no matter what, today is a day of celebration, so let’s celebrate! Congratulations guys! We finally made it through school! Good luck in all of your future endeavors, and don’t be afraid to live your life how you want to. You got this. 

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