I was salutatorian of my class and had to give a speech at graduation. Here it is.

As I was trying to write this speech, I was thinking of the speeches I’ve heard at other graduations. They were about the usual things: friends, teachers, memories from the past, and hopes for the future, all scattered among lots of farewells and “thank you” ’s. And I realized that one very important group in the shaping of our lives is too often not given their due. All of our lives, they’ve stood in the shadows, supporting us as we grabbed the spotlight. And though they are once again sitting in the shadows, watching as we take the stage again today, this time they will not be overlooked.

This poem goes out to all moms and dads,
All grandparents and guardians, too.
To all who’ve helped to bring us up,
a big thanks from the Class of ’02.
For every time we’ve made you cry,
We hope there was twice as much joy.
We’re sorry if we ever made you mad,
Or if we made a lot of noise.
We’re sorry our rooms weren’t quite clean
And we didn’t always get home on time.
As you look back on all these years,
We hope they are filled with smiles.
Because, although we sometimes fight
And we don’t always see eye to eye,
Without you, we wouldn’t have come this far,
Or learned so much about life.
You were the ones who taught us to walk,
You were there when we first spoke.
You cared for us when we got sick
And laughed at all of our jokes.
You let us play with our friends
And pick out our own clothes for school
And even though you taught us cheating was bad,
You let us break the board game rules.
You taught us how to ride our bikes
And how to drive our cars.
And though you made us work and do chores,
You granted that our free time was ours.
Whenever we wanted to back out on something,
You were there to make sure we tried.
You told us to always tell the truth
And scolded us when we lied.
You drove us to games and concerts and work,
Teaching us to budget our time.
You taught us about money, too,
And the ways to save a dime.
You were there when we learned about boys and girls
And the differences between the two.
You watched as we learned about love,
And sometimes about heartbreak, too.
You applauded us for our various talents
And helped to nurture our dreams.
We know that you’ll always be there for us
And you’ll never know just how much that means.
We’ve come a long way as you’ve watched us,
But we’re all grown up now.
And though we’ve changed a lot,
We’re still your little kids deep down.
As the years continue to change us,
Though life may take us apart,
Know that we still hold to what you’ve taught
And that you are always in our hearts.
These words of thanks are heartfelt
And there’s still so much we could say,
But the best proof that you’ve raised us well
Is that we stand on this stage today.

Thanks to all of you - both out in the audience and elsewhere - that helped us to get here and CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2002!!!!!!!

06/02/2002

Posted on 06/08/2002
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