My Speech at Paladin's Class of 2014 Commencement Ceremony
Congratulations, to all of you who have come so far,
and made it to this evening,
the celebration of your graduation,
the Commencement of the Class of 2014.
This past year, these past few years,
has been an amazing journey.
Some of you have been homeless, addicts,
and have lacked self-esteem.
Some of you have been behind in school,
and some of you have even felt like you are behind in life.
Some of you have been angry, exhausted, or frustrated.
But ALL of you have triumphed and overcome the obstacles you faced.
All of you have achieved something today, that,
at times, others said you could not do,
Or even you yourself, doubted that you could do.
Through all of the struggles, and all of the challenges,
whether you were homeless, behind, or exhausted,
something inside of you told you, that you had more to give.
Something inside of you told you, not to give up.
Something inside of you KNEW, that you deserved more from your life.
You KNEW, even with all of the drama around you,
that you wanted options beyond what others thought you deserved.
You KNEW, that your life was one of value and purpose,
and that no one was going to stop you from meeting your goals.
And now, here you are, about to take that next step into you future.
And I want to remind you to HANG ON TO THE STRENGTH that got you to this point.
Never forget how you feel in this moment, having reached this goal.
Because this is just one of many more successes to come.
As many of you know, famous poet, author, and personal inspiration to me,
Maya Anjelou, passed away yesterday. And in reading through her collections
of short stories and poems, one of them made me think specifically of you
and all that you have endured and overcome.
The title of the poem is "Still I Rise."
I am not going to read the entire poem,
but rather a few excerpts that spoke to me the loudest, about each of you.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
- Excerpts from "Still I Rise," by Maya Anjelou
And rise, you have.
You are strong. You are resilient. You are amazing.
I could not be more proud of you, and I hope that each of you is proud
of how far you have come with what you have accomplished.
Congratulations Class of 2014. I cannot wait to see what you do next!
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