Graduation Speech 2015.

Hello my fellow graduates. Welcome friends, family, teachers and administrators to the graduation of the class of 2015 at Portola Middle School.

I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone that is here today... to our parents that supported us even when we pushed them away; to our siblings who had been there to celebrate the happiest times in our lives and lift us up when we’re feeling down, to our dear teachers who prepared us for the life ahead of us; lastly, to our friends that became family.

I came to Portola shy and terrified of everyone. I did not know anyone and I did not know how I would survive middle school without any friends. When I went home that day, I begged my mom to home school me. Thankfully, she said “No”. I was forced to come to school the next day, still terrified until this girl named Osher came up to me and we became friends. She then introduced me to more people; with that, I gained confidence.

Throughout my two years at Portola, I made friends that became strangers and some stayed close to my heart. I gained a lot of confidence, that I even had the strength to start my own YouTube channel. I learned that fear will not be with you forever. You just have to face it. I learned that not everything is going to be easy; that we have to face difficulties in life. I learned that not everyone is trustworthy; you have to choose the right kind of friends. I learned how to build teamwork that we can’t do everything by ourselves without any help. I learned that opening up to someone can be very helpful and make your shoulders lighter. Most importantly, I learned that middle school is not the hardest part of our lives; it is only the beginning.

Fellow graduates, we have come to an end of the first battle of our lives. There will be more and even harder battles that we have to face. It will be difficult, but all we have to do is trust ourselves and learn from it. I want to wish each and every one of you a successful life. Never give up on your dreams, because Thomas Edison once said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

We are ready and prepared for the next battle that we’re going to face. It is a whole new world in high school, and we should all make the best of it. Thank You.