6/12 graduation speech

Ever since sixth grade, it's been my dream to say the final goodbye to my graduating class. Unfortunately, I was not chosen as the Class of 2015's Graduating Speaker. Despite that, I think I wrote a pretty bomb speech, so I want to share it. It's really special to me, and it kills me inside that I won't be able to give it in a formal setting, but it is what it is. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and without further adieu, here it is:

        Welcome, family, friends, and teachers of the Class of 2015. I am so excited and humbled to stand here in front of you all today. I am even more excited and humbled to graduate as are my peers, the people of the hour: the Class of 2015. Unfortunately for the most of us who—let's be honest—are still suffering from senioritis, this end is only the beginning. Fortunately, however, it is the beginning of something even greater, something so great we lack the ability to even comprehend it. It is…drum roll please…the beginning of our lives. 

This year, the Bunker Hill community lost three of our Bears. At one point, I thought there was no way we could bounce back from it, but we did. How? We told stories. We cherished each other. We made it a promise to never forget what happened and to whom it happened. The feelings we feel tonight are different from those we felt earlier this year, but we can grow from these feelings—from high school—in the same way we grew then. We tell stories. We tell stories about the times we defeated Saint in basketball and everyone crowded onto the floor; about the times we fell asleep in classrooms, me with my head always bobbing; about the time we all went outside to give the Varsity Men's Baseball Team a proper sendoff to the state championships; about the times we played trivia in Ms. Eddin's class. These are only some of the stories that we can tell. Next, we cherish each other. My peers, I ask you to take a small amount of time today to thank any of the classmates and faculty that touched your heart. I promise your efforts will be appreciated, and you will make someone's day. Lastly, we must try our best to never forget our times at the Hill. You can leave Claremont, Catawba, and even North Carolina. Leave and do amazing things. In fact, I hope you will, but please come back to Bunker Hill. Come back to our reunions. Come back to tell your old friends about your new friends, new adventures, and new endeavors. Come back to show us how you are utilizing your experiences at the Hill to fuel your future.

Now, if you do happen to forget us, forget Bunker Hill, whether it be your choice or not, I ask you to remember this: "Anything is possible if you just believe." To some of you this idea may seem naïve and childish, but it is not. I testify to you that it is not. I promise you that no matter how insignificant or flawed or incompetent you may think you are, if you believe in your own capabilities and passions, you will succeed. Coming from a family that lacks college graduates, I have at times felt that I would not succeed—that I will not be "smart enough" or "motivated enough" to earn a degree. I would be lying if I told you all those thoughts were in the past, but they aren't. In fact, they are running rampant through my mind today. The only thing keeping me sane right now is the belief I have in myself to do something great. I know that I was put here for a greater purpose than simply being Cassey Cha. And Class of 2015, I know each of you have been put here for a greater purpose than simply being another body. We were born into this world, placed into loving families both at home and at Bunker Hill, for specific purposes. And as we graduate, we are one step closer to discovering that purpose. We are one step closer to becoming something greater than boys and girls in the small town of Claremont, North Carolina. So Class of 2015, go out there with your head held high, and find out what your purpose is. 

         My fellow classmates, we have come a long way, and it has been a beautiful journey. I am incredibly amazed at the friendships we have created and the people we have become, and I know—without the shadow of a doubt—that you each have the potential to change the world, whether you believe it or not. Well, my friends, believe it. Actually, don't just believe that you can change the world. Believe that you will change the world, and you will do just that. Thank you so much for the great and unforgettable four years, teachers and peers of Bunker Hill. You will forever be in my heart as I hope we—the Class of 2015—will be in yours because “Once a Bear, always a Bear.”

If you're still reading thus far, thank you so much. It means the world to me. 

Congrats Bunker Hill's Class of 2015. We made it.