#Proud

When I'm proud of my kids I want to share it with the world!  This is a graduation speech that one of my 8th graders wrote.  I don't get a lot of genuinely good writing and so this just truly made my day and gave hope that you know what there is hope out there somewhere.  

Enjoy:

A great man once said, “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Families, Friends, Teachers and Staff, before you up on this stage are a group of  hilarious people who I couldn’t hate no matter how hard I tried. Geniuses who question my intelligence everyday and I wouldn’t be surprised if they came up to me after this to correct whatever mistakes I might’ve made! On this stage is a group of free, confused and lonely scholars who are indeed crazy, but will definitely change the world one day.

This year was not at all what any of us were expecting, but luckily we survived. We made it and now we’re up on this stage and we have the honor to stand before you all and make you proud. Those smiles on your faces are because of us and nothing warms our hearts more than all of your smiles. Nothing is better than this feeling we all have right now! I had so many doubts this year and I was so sure that I wouldn’t be where I am right now, but I am. And you know what I don’t even care anymore. I don’t care about yesterday’s pain or how I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning and think about right now. I don’t care about any of that. At least not right now. Everything is so complete in this moment and I don’t need anything to rain on my parade. They say that nothing beautiful is perfect, but I cannot think of a more beautifully perfected moment than right now. 

And I know that there are people who say that all dreams don’t come true, and there are people who forget what it’s like to be 13 when they turn 14. And though these will all be stories someday, and our pictures will be old photographs, and we’ll become somebody’s parents one day. But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here and I am looking at my wonderful classmates, and I am so proud of them right now. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song on that drive and you’re sitting on the stage, with the people you love most in this world. And in that moment. I swear we are infinite

I give to you the Class of 2014!

-Ms. P