2018 Brooks Secondary School graduating class member Jing Zhong delivered the following speech at the school's graduation ceremony, held at Hap Parker Arena on Saturday, June 2.
To my fellow graduates:
We stand here today on the precipice of the future. It's not a distant reality anymore. It begins here. It begins today. Well, actually, at the end of the month, but you get the idea.
We began high school as small, wide-eyed children, but we're leaving here as adults. We've completed a basic education that will serve as the foundation we use to build ourselves and our futures. And we should be proud.
Some of us will go on to university, others will go straight into trades, apprenticeships, or the workforce, but each of us will travel our own, separate path (finally!).
I want to talk about time with you all. I’m not going to go on a tangent about how time is a social construct. Instead, I’ll ask a question.
How do we measure the time we've spent in high school?
In the beginning, we measured it in class periods, counting down the days to summer and the freedom associated with it. As the days and weeks passed, we measured it in semesters, and later in years as we moved from being those little, clueless eighth graders to becoming sophisticated 10th graders who thought they had it all figured out.
That, of course, changed in our 11th year. We were pushed to take charge of our future. And while we were confident that we were prepared to take over for the graduating seniors, we also had to plan out our career path.
And now here we are. Our time is over, and it's up to the next class to step into our shoes and take over.
I know that as I look out at all of you, I will measure my time here in a much different way. I will measure it in all the friendships I've enjoyed these last four years. Some were pretty casual or fleeting. A smile while passing through the hallway or even just being desk buddies in one class, you will still be remembered fondly.
Other friendships have been much closer. I will remember countless hours laughing and crying over the most random joke that still doesn’t make sense, or ranting about how much homework we have to do. I can also reminisce on days spent at friends’ houses and nights at the beach by a fire. These are the memories we will remember and treasure.
That's how we'll ultimately measure the time we spent here, not in periods or semesters or years, but in the friendships that we made and the times we shared together. We won’t remember the super late nights spent writing essays or the hours of test-writing that we endured in the “NEST.”
I'll remember each friendship, as I'm sure you all will, too. Memories fade but strong friendships will not.
My advice is to not let go of the people you want to be around. Let’s put in that extra work into the relationships we care about. This is time that won’t go to waste.
Let’s stop investing our time in toxic relationships with people who won’t give you their time. Listen to your mom, too, because she really does know what’s best for you. Seriously. She’s been at it far longer than you.
Because we’ve spent years in this environment, I hope that we’ve discovered what our morals are. If you haven’t, you still have time. Don’t waste it.
I think that most of us have developed a set of values and skills already. While we haven’t set our values in stone or perfected our skills, we still have time. Building a strong foundation takes time and patience.
This school has tried to teach us and help us plan it. Each of us has a different future, so our foundations will be a bit different. For example, the scientists will have math and science subjects, the business people will have humanities and economics subjects, and to each their own.
High school graduation is a major step in the journey that is our lives and is one that should be recognized for its significance. It is an act not only of personal commitment, but also one of pride. We all worked hard to get to this day, and our work did not go to waste. A high school diploma is a wonderful tool in this world, one that opens many doors of opportunity for anyone who is lucky enough to have one.
Today, on our graduation day, we have the chance to pause for a moment, celebrate our achievements, and toast to our futures. We have all the foundation we need. We have skills in most areas, we have a will to succeed and an open mind about what we can achieve.
Many of us are going to university and we really are ready to step up. Others have excellent careers in mind and will be making that happen. For all of us, we have a lifetime of family times, relationships, friendships, fun, hard work, challenges, learning and change to come.
The class of 2018 has been unbelievable. We have made friends for life. Over the years everyone has helped each other and we have been a class I am very proud to belong to. The only thing left to say is, congratulations to my fellow class of 2018.
Good luck!
