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"If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken
And stoop and build'em up with worn out tools;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run;
Yours will be the earth and everything that's in it . . ."
Good evening. Tonight I am not going to stand before you and talk of a Utopian future for a perfect class, for as you have just heard in Rudyard Kipling's words, life entails more than bliss and happiness. This evening I will paint a more realistic picture of the true significance of what is being celebrated tonight and of what is to come, emphasising the positives but not ignoring the less desirable and possibly unattractive aspects.
Many of you consider what we are celebrating tonight to be an end, but I prefer to look at it as a beginning. Although we are in the final stages of finishing high school, we have our whole lives in front of us. Tonight is definitely a time for celebration, but to place too much emphasis on this event, as is often the case with the modern, commercialised approach to graduation, would be to miss the point entirely. This would be comparable to stopping mid-stride to celebrate the completion of the first kilometre of a long distance marathon, or publishing a novel or a musical composition after writing only the first few paragraphs or bars, or handing in an exam after completing only the first few questions. These are all reasonable comparisons, for life is a marathon of extreme proportions, life is a composition of emotional highs and lows, and life is a series of challenges and problems waiting to be overcome. While there is nothing wrong with celebrating each accomplishment along the way, we must not lose sight of its place in the overall picture.
You may be asking yourself, what is the overall picture? The answer: a future of endless possibilities, before us paths that we can shape and mould as we go along, paths that will meet and cross the paths of others, influencing while at the same time being influenced, but for each of us the path will vary in some way. Being here this evening is one such event that will impact upon our lives. The diplomas that we will receive tonight are stepping-stones to our futures; the countless hours that each of us has put into our high school experience determine the composition of that stepping-stone. Although different, each has the potential to be successful in supporting the traveller on his trek across the raging river of life. At the same time, each is vulnerable to failure, for you never know when the current will change, sweeping away any one of us. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, each of us will have the opportunity to respond as a unique individual. Some who are swept away will struggle and fight, never giving up in the hope that eventually they will make it to safety. Others in the same situation will simply let the turbulent waters dictate their futures as they are slowly swallowed up.
For the survivors there are also different ways of approaching life. There will be leaders and there will be followers, there will be those who dare to be different and those who conform, and there will be those who pause to aid others in their journeys and those who march selfishly on, oblivious to their surroundings. Any one of us here tonight could find ourselves on any of these paths, but this is simply a part of the grand adventure of life. As Sir Winston Churchill said, "The glory of light cannot exist without its shadows. Life is a whole, and good and ill must be accepted together." Without the trials and tribulations that we will face along the way, what would we have to judge ourselves by, and what would the purpose of life be? In Einstein's words, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity". Grab a hold of that opportunity and make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in.
In conclusion I would like to offer you a passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
"What a piece of work is a man!
How noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty!
in form, in moving, how express and admirable!
in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god!
the beauty of the world!
the paragon of animals!"
Each of us has that potential within us. As you go forth into the world I encourage you to seek it out; use it to shape your future and to deal with the obstacles that you may encounter along the way. Remember the past, but look to the future, and above all, settle for nothing less than your best. Good luck.