Senior Speech: Steven C. 5/18/12

May 17th, 2012
By Steven C.
I have been attending RHP since 2008 when I started here as a freshman.  What I would like to talk about today is the one thing that is most important in my life, besides family. Sports. I have been playing sports since I was 3 years old and still play to this day. The sports I have played range from mellow team sports like baseball to intense and quick paced contact sports like rugby and even individual sports like racing motocross. Sports have always been what my life was about. But today I don’t want to talk about me; I want to talk about the quote that comes up more often than anything in sports… “I Can’t.”
Now how many people have ever come to a situation that was just too hard? Did you give up and say “I Cant?” But here’s one more question, what does “I can’t” truly mean?
Let’s break this down. “I”… I can stand for many things. Possibly it can stand for Intimidation or even the what Ifs of life. What does it mean to be intimidated? What happens when you are facing an opponent and they are much larger, faster, or even stronger than you? That in itself can be intimidating, but is that a reason to give up without even trying? Or does that make it okay to say there’s no point on giving a 100% effort if failing looks like a possibility. Not at all. This is where the “What Ifs” turn into a positive. What if the team that yes, may be all around better than you, has an off game? What if their star players get hurt half-way into the game? If you didn’t start the game with 100% effort, you just took yourself and possibly your whole team out of the game from the get-go.
When the words “I Can’t” come out of a person’s mouth, to me that “C” in can’t stands for Coward. In trainings for sports people constantly say I can’t do this. I ask myself why? And over the years I came to the conclusion that those people are scared of pain. Those people are cowards of the temporary pain training causes, while the people that push through the pain get to feel the pride and accomplishment.
A is the next letter. A can stand for Anxiety, which could make you want to give up or stop instantly. But before you count yourself out, think about your peers or your teammates? Wouldn’t  you think they were just as anxious? Anxiety can psych yourself out before the referee even says play. You know those butterfly feelings you get before a big moment or game? For every person they can be different types, maybe excited, or for others, extreme nervousness. But the only way to get over those butterflies is to push through it and set goals for yourself. And when you aspire to accomplish that goal that is when you will overcome anxiety.
Would you neglect your family if they were in need? This is my next question. That is a pretty intense word to represent “N” but it makes sense. When you work out or practice, it is to get better yourself and prepare for upcoming games or challenges, correct? So why would you neglect  your teammates or even yourself by giving up or saying you can’t do it.  Neglecting hard work shows a lot about one’s character and shows your peers even more. If you can’t work hard just for a team workout, what makes you think your teammates are going to place trust in you when it comes down to game time?
The Final Letter “T”, Train. When people say they can’t, it is mostly because they are not prepared for the obstacle they are faced with. The only way to be prepared is to train even more. To push past the Temporary pains to better prepare yourself for the next time. Trust me if you think workouts get easier by giving up, your are in for a rude awakening. The only way is hard work, persistence, and of course, to train.
So the next time you feel like you can’t push anymore or you want to quit, push through it. When you come to a mountain, before you think it is too high or impossible to tear down, don’t run away, face it and overcome it! It will make you stronger and better and it will build character.  Don’t do it for the wrong reasons though, do it to prove to yourself you are capable of more. But you will never know if you say, “ I can’t” or if you give up. When you give up you miss out on the feeling of accomplishment, the knowledge of knowing it is time to set your goals higher now. The road to greatness won’t be easy, but the next time you are faced with a challenge, instead of whining or complaining about it, just embrace the obstacle and tear it down.

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Senior Speech: Ivan B. 5/17/12

May 17th, 2012
By Ivan B.
Friendship Speech
Friendship. It is a strong bond that we create with a select few of the many people we come across in our day to day lives. It is the bridges we choose to build and strengthen over the years with the people who we care about the most. When I was told to write a speech for my senior class and the other students at RHP, it was easy for me to decide on a topic. After coming to this school and making memories with so many people in the senior class and out, I felt that the best way of saying thank you was through this speech.
When I was at my former high school, Palos Verdes, there were students in every corner of the school and there were opportunities to create friends were everywhere. I talked to almost everyone in my grade and shared laughs with them throughout the days as we went along hardly paying attention in our classes. I talked to many and ignored few. However, this gave me a false sense of the word “friend.” Many of the people I looked to to share a laugh with were not the ones that I could rely on or expect to have my back when need be. They were acquaintances or links, people that I knew and could joke around with but nothing more than that. They weren’t people that I held a strong relationship with and a bond that I would remember even after my high school career.
When I switched to Rolling hills Prep I did not know what to expect. I had only been on the old campus and from what my mom had told me it sounded as if they would have a Hogwarts dining hall smack in the middle of the new campus. After showing up, it was easy to see that this wasn’t the case. The school was made up of small bungalows that went on as far as the eye could see, about 100 feet. The campus was small and there was no dining hall to be found. On top of it all there was a strange bald headed Filipino boy being loud and obnoxious at the lunch table. Great… when I think back, I never expected to be friends with this obnoxiously loud kid. In fact, I made many attempts to stay away from him.
As time has passed it is easy to see that that bald headed kid is my close friend today. The person I strayed away from and tried to avoid is the same person I know I can count on for anything and has my back. After hearing it many times but never giving it the opportunity to soak in, I’ve finally learned to never judge a book by its cover. There are many people that we come across in our lives. There are some that we’d like to know more than others, but instead we should keep an open mind and build friendships that last.

By Ivan B.Friendship SpeechFriendship. It is a strong bond that we create with a select few of the many people we come across in our day to day lives. It is the bridges we choose to build and strengthen over the years with the people who we care about the most. When I was told to write a speech for my senior class and the other students at RHP, it was easy for me to decide on a topic. After coming to this school and making memories with so many people in the senior class and out, I felt that the best way of saying thank you was through this speech. When I was at my former high school, Palos Verdes, there were students in every corner of the school and there were opportunities to create friends were everywhere. I talked to almost everyone in my grade and shared laughs with them throughout the days as we went along hardly paying attention in our classes. I talked to many and ignored few. However, this gave me a false sense of the word “friend.” Many of the people I looked to to share a laugh with were not the ones that I could rely on or expect to have my back when need be. They were acquaintances or links, people that I knew and could joke around with but nothing more than that. They weren’t people that I held a strong relationship with and a bond that I would remember even after my high school career. When I switched to Rolling hills Prep I did not know what to expect. I had only been on the old campus and from what my mom had told me it sounded as if they would have a Hogwarts dining hall smack in the middle of the new campus. After showing up, it was easy to see that this wasn’t the case. The school was made up of small bungalows that went on as far as the eye could see, about 100 feet. The campus was small and there was no dining hall to be found. On top of it all there was a strange bald headed Filipino boy being loud and obnoxious at the lunch table. Great… when I think back, I never expected to be friends with this obnoxiously loud kid. In fact, I made many attempts to stay away from him. As time has passed it is easy to see that that bald headed kid is my close friend today. The person I strayed away from and tried to avoid is the same person I know I can count on for anything and has my back. After hearing it many times but never giving it the opportunity to soak in, I’ve finally learned to never judge a book by its cover. There are many people that we come across in our lives. There are some that we’d like to know more than others, but instead we should keep an open mind and build friendships that last.

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Senior Speech: Yuna H. 5/14/12

May 17th, 2012
By Yuna H
To me, life is a game where we are the main characters of our own stories. These stories are filled with unknown consequences, danger, and adventure that unravel with every choice one makes. These choices that we make ultimately decide the consequences that we face in the future. We all started somewhere to eventually fight something, whether it may be social injustices, a punching bag, or Time Warner Cable.
After birth and years of nurture, we are sent to train in a place called “school.” The first weapons we held were crayons, and paper was our enemy. Then as we mature and graduate, we begin to learn more about our surroundings. Our peers, society, the past and present. And when we reach college, we as individuals diverge onto separate paths to do what we want to do.
What life seems to me may seem like a drama or a box of chocolate to another. There are always good times and bad times, caramel fillings and coconut fillings. Whatever life gives you (like lemons), you don’t always have to make lemonade. Just make the best out of it. You only have one chance at life, so fulfill your dreams, passions, and goals. Don’t let others’ opinions get in your way. Just because building a time machine is “physically impossible” doesn’t mean that you can attempt to build one. Just because you aren’t “model-like” doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. We are all unique, with all of our strengths and weaknesses and characteristics and mindset. Like Maddie said, “Nobody is normal,” maybe except for normal-type Pokemon.
And because everyone is special, we are all capable of making a difference in the world. It just takes effort and less procrastination. Perhaps we might not be able to impact the world. If this is true, we can still affect and make a difference in other people’s lives. Be optimistic. Just because you think that you’re nobody in this world does not mean that you are a nobody to a somebody. To end my speech, I have a quote my sister once told me, “To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world”. So “Live long and prosper.”

By Yuna H.
To me, life is a game where we are the main characters of our own stories. These stories are filled with unknown consequences, danger, and adventure that unravel with every choice one makes. These choices that we make ultimately decide the consequences that we face in the future. We all started somewhere to eventually fight something, whether it may be social injustices, a punching bag, or Time Warner Cable.After birth and years of nurture, we are sent to train in a place called “school.” The first weapons we held were crayons, and paper was our enemy. Then as we mature and graduate, we begin to learn more about our surroundings. Our peers, society, the past and present. And when we reach college, we as individuals diverge onto separate paths to do what we want to do. What life seems to me may seem like a drama or a box of chocolate to another. There are always good times and bad times, caramel fillings and coconut fillings. Whatever life gives you (like lemons), you don’t always have to make lemonade. Just make the best out of it. You only have one chance at life, so fulfill your dreams, passions, and goals. Don’t let others’ opinions get in your way. Just because building a time machine is “physically impossible” doesn’t mean that you can attempt to build one. Just because you aren’t “model-like” doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favorite foods. We are all unique, with all of our strengths and weaknesses and characteristics and mindset. Like Maddie said, “Nobody is normal,” maybe except for normal-type Pokemon. And because everyone is special, we are all capable of making a difference in the world. It just takes effort and less procrastination. Perhaps we might not be able to impact the world. If this is true, we can still affect and make a difference in other people’s lives. Be optimistic. Just because you think that you’re nobody in this world does not mean that you are a nobody to a somebody. To end my speech, I have a quote my sister once told me, “To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world”. So “Live long and prosper.”

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Senior Speech: Victor J. 5/11/12

May 11th, 2012

By Victor J.

I began my journey at Rolling Hills Prep in the 7th Grade. In life there is one word that can be the deciding factor of your reputation. That word is “character.” My character is one that stands out. Character has various meanings such as respect, responsibility, fairness, and citizenship. My definition of character is not what is seen on the outside but what is within a person. Those characteristics are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. When you look at me, I look like I can scare people very easily; however, if you really knew me I am very lovable with a gentle spirit. These characteristics are very important to me because they allow me to make life choices.

Using your inner character will allow you to make the right choices in life and understand that when you are not responsible consequences will follow.

Therefore, love; love yourself and others.

Joy; joy is better than just being happy so have joy.

Peace; strive always to create peace wherever you go.

Patience; don’t rush things; allow things to come to you.

Kindness; be kind to others because you never know when you will meet again.

Goodness; make good decisions.

Gentleness; it’s okay be gentle, you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.

Self-control; control yourself in difficult situations. While playing golf I use these fruits of the spirit and it has allowed my character to grow both on and off the golf  course. I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

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Inside the O’Flaherty Family Library: Special Book Series

May 10th, 2012

By Susan Matt

During the 1960’s and early ’70’s, television had a regular place in most American families’ life.  Ed Sullivan was on Sunday night and Dragnet was on Thursday.  In the Los Angeles area, there were seven networks from which to choose and reruns or repeats of the shows started just about the time school was out in June.

What spiced up the offerings were occasional specials.  The National Geographic Society produced action specials of subjects featured in their magazine.  These were of such high quality that many can still be purchased today as video DVDs.  No one who saw it can forget the scene of the grizzly bear quickly recovering from the Craigheads’ tranquilizer, still woozy but able to attack their station wagon on the Alaskan tundra.  National Geographic pulled together some of its most fantastic photographs into books on various subjects.  There are books on America’s national parks, regions of America, and wonders of the world.  The Burrell family has generously donated 47 of these books to the library.  To see available titles and their distinctive cover photographs, go to the Library section of the RHP website in the School News tab.  Search National Geographic Society and click on the Author button.

Another series of specials that regaled families during the early 1970’s was The Undersea World of  Jacques Cousteau.  This wiry, tanned Frenchman with his soothing gallic accent took us to places we’d never before imagined aboard his ship the Calypso.  His international crew of adventurer / scientists dove deep in the water to show us exotic crabs, the comical grouper and the huge, mysterious whale shark, to name just a few.  The Schnuckel Family of Manhattan Beach has given us all19 volumes of the Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau.  Search Cousteau as the Author.  Although the series is over 30 years old, the topics are still relevant today and the vivid photographs will still amaze.  Cousteau and his team helped alert people to the fragile ecology of the ocean which may have helped save some species but the threat has not gone away and our students will benefit from his teachings.

Thanks to the Kopito Family for their donation of ten books in the American Heritage Book of Presidents and Famous Americans series.  These informative books will especially be useful to the eighth graders who need to write a research paper on a president.  These can be found in the history (973/.09/9) section of non-fiction.

The last sets of series of note are published by Time-Life books.  These were produced in the 1970’s through the 90’s and are still valuable with their expert writing and quality pictures.  As each book focuses on a certain topic, students can easily assist their research by searching on their desired Subject in the library website.  If you are browsing the shelves, look up your subject by its non-fiction Dewey decimal number.

We have collected five Time-Life series:  Life Science Library, Great Ages of Man, The American Wilderness, TimeFrame and, just added, 6 volumes from Voyage through the Universe.  Each of these can be found by entering the name of the series and clicking the Series button in the library search.  We also have two volumes from Encyclopedia of Gardening.  If anyone wishes to donate books, we would love to add more Gardening and The Old West or The American Indians series to the collection.  Time-Life publishes such magazines as Time, Life, Fortune and Sports Illustrated but also became a powerful publishing house.  While cataloging books, we’ve come across a variety of books they published.   Find the book with the Title Luce and His Empire, the biography of Henry R. Luce, the founder to learn more about Time-Life.

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Senior Speech: Michael C. 5/10/12

May 10th, 2012
By Michael C.
It seems as though we hear a great many speeches that start off with the words “before I came to RHP,” followed by a description of the speaker’s hardships and how they were quickly resolved by swapping schools.  Not to disparage Prep or understate its merits, but things haven’t much changed for me since I switched over.  I still can’t find much happiness or success in my education, and I certainly don’t look forward to coming to school each morning.
That’s not on Prep, though–they’ve done a fine job, better than any of the public schools I’ve seen, but the longer I remain in high school the clearer it becomes to me that I’m ready to move on.  I’ve been told we should be feeling nostalgic right now, experiencing a bittersweet range of emotions about our eventual departure.  Me, I’m tired of this portion of my life.  For a while, I didn’t qualify my feelings that way.  I thought I was tired of life in general, and I ended up in a pretty bad place from my junior year onward, slipping into a deep depression.
If there’s one good thing that my high school education’s brought me, though, it’s the friends I’ve made.  They’re people I care about more than anything and would trust with my life, and without them I imagine I’d be a whole lot worse off than I am now.  When I felt hopeless about my life and the future, they’re the ones who made me realize that things will always improve eventually if one just toughs it out.  When I made terrible mistakes–and I’ve made a number of them during my high school career–they didn’t let me gloss over it; they told me.  And they forgave me.
I’m not going to miss high school.  Not even a little bit.  The people I’ve met here, though, I’m never going to forget them.  I hope we keep in touch, because I don’t know what I’m going to do without you guys.

By Michael C.It seems as though we hear a great many speeches that start off with the words “before I came to RHP,” followed by a description of the speaker’s hardships and how they were quickly resolved by swapping schools.  Not to disparage Prep or understate its merits, but things haven’t much changed for me since I switched over.  I still can’t find much happiness or success in my education, and I certainly don’t look forward to coming to school each morning.That’s not on Prep, though–they’ve done a fine job, better than any of the public schools I’ve seen, but the longer I remain in high school the clearer it becomes to me that I’m ready to move on.  I’ve been told we should be feeling nostalgic right now, experiencing a bittersweet range of emotions about our eventual departure.  Me, I’m tired of this portion of my life.  For a while, I didn’t qualify my feelings that way.  I thought I was tired of life in general, and I ended up in a pretty bad place from my junior year onward, slipping into a deep depression.If there’s one good thing that my high school education’s brought me, though, it’s the friends I’ve made.  They’re people I care about more than anything and would trust with my life, and without them I imagine I’d be a whole lot worse off than I am now.  When I felt hopeless about my life and the future, they’re the ones who made me realize that things will always improve eventually if one just toughs it out.  When I made terrible mistakes–and I’ve made a number of them during my high school career–they didn’t let me gloss over it; they told me.  And they forgave me.I’m not going to miss high school.  Not even a little bit.  The people I’ve met here, though, I’m never going to forget them.  I hope we keep in touch, because I don’t know what I’m going to do without you guys.

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Senior Speech: Jae Sang L. 5/07/12

May 10th, 2012
By Jae Sang L.
Yesterday, I spent the entire night trying to figure out how to top Jack’s senior speech, and then I gave up. I don’t think anyone in the history of RHP can ever beat Jack’s speech. So, instead, I decided to tell you guys about rollercoasters.
First of all, I hate rollercoasters. I hate waiting and I hate height, so rollercoasters never were the thing for me. Hence, I have only been to amusement parks a few times. And in those rare occasions I would only ride bumper cars or magnificent, majestic, and plastic horses that went around in circles. But there came a day that I had to finally face my phobia of rollercoasters.
I was on a trip in Japan with my friends, and somehow our hotel happened to be located inside an amusement park. So, after unpacking, my friends and I went down to the park. As usual, I found my favorite ride, merry-go-round, and was waiting in a short line to get on the next turn. However, that plan didn’t work out very well as my friends dragged me to the end of what looked like at least a two-hour wait to ride one of the scariest rollercoasters in Japan. As we were waiting, I was trying the entire time to figure out how to juke my friends and get away as far as possible, so they cannot find me. But, once I saw that a girl I had a crush on was standing next to me, that option immediately became illegitimate. There was no way out and my destination was set: to the rollercoaster and to the final seconds of my life. Long story short, I found myself sitting in the rollercoaster ready to take me off into outer space. The employee checked that the safety bar was tightly on everyone, and we were off. If I can remember correctly, I had a cardiac arrest, seizure, and stroke in that one ride. But, surprisingly, the ride wasn’t as bad as I thought. It was even worse. I felt dizzy, nauseated, and exhausted. And also I had not known at that time that this experience was going to become a huge lesson in my life.
A year before I came to RHP, I was depressed. I became bored with the life that I was living. Everything in my life seemed meaningless. Even when I was hanging out with my friends, I didn’t feel anything. I lost all motivation and was filled with despair. Every day, I just lied down in my bed doing absolutely nothing. I became shy and non-sociable. I started avoiding my friends, teachers, and family. Everything fell apart. Everything that I had built up to that point in my life crashed. My grades plummeted because I sat at home doing nothing. My relationships with friends and others broke down. And the vicious cycle went on and on. It was like falling from the top of the rollercoaster. And just when I thought I had hit the bottom of the ride, I miraculously met God. That became the turning point in my ride. I found new motivation and new meaning to life. The thing about rollercoasters is that the higher you fall, the more momentum you have to soar back up. The difficult time I went through was scary just like the rollercoaster fall, and long, but if I had not gone through that moment in my life, I do not think I will ever be the person I am today. I came to RHP and started my junior year. Learning from my past mistakes, I gave my best in every little thing that I did, whether it was homework, presentations, quizzes, or tests (although this year because of senioritis I’m slacking a little bit). But in the end, it all paid off. The fall I went through became the bitter medicine that helped me through my time here at RHP.
They say babies fall down 2,000 times before they stand and walk. So, everyone in here has fallen at least 2,000 times but picked yourselves up, and now you guys are fine. So, what I am getting at is that we are all experts at failures, and sadly, everyone in here is going to fall again. We’re going to fall because of people, we’re going to fall because of work, and we’re going to fall because of love. But remember one more thing about rollercoasters is that it always has safety bars, and without it, it doesn’t start. Our lives have safety bars. We may not consciously notice all the time but there is a safety bar around all of us right now, whether it family, friends, or teachers. So, even though there lies a daunting journey ahead of all of us, I just want to say enjoy your rides and do not be afraid to fail. Thank you.

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Boys’ Track and Field Wins League Championship

May 4th, 2012

By Coach George Cohen

On Thursday, May 3, 10 schools and 270 athletes convened on the West LA College track for the Coastal League Championship track meet.  For many of those, this represented the final track meet of their high school career, but for a record number (70) of contestants from the Coastal League, the season was extended at least for one more week as they won the hard fought and highly coveted privilege to move on to the CIF Southern Section prelims in Carpinteria next Saturday and a chance to win a spot at the prestigious California State Meet on June 1- 2.

Among those so honored are a record number of athletes from RHP.  Congratulations to Mark W. (100m – 1st place; Long-jump – 2nd place; 4×400 relay); Chase R. (200m – 1st place; 400m – 1st place; 4×400 relay); Austin W. – (400m – 3rd place; 800m – 1st place; 4×400 relay); Brendon C. (1600m – 1st place; 3200m – 1st place; 4×400 relay); Jasmine B. (200m – 3rd place; 4×400 relay); Katie H. (400m – 1st place; 800m 2nd place; 4×400 relay); Kellie H. (400m – 2nd place; 300H – 1st place; 4×400 relay); Beverly N. (High-jump – 2nd place) and; Maya C. (1600 – 3rd place; 4×400 relay).

It has been a very long short season for the Huskies and this final league meet saw some very note worthy performances.  In addition to the above mentioned athletes, Beverly N. ran a PR in the 200 (28.3).  Brianna L. ran her best in the 100 (14.5).  Jessica P. threw the shot-put 19’09” for her best effort this year.  Ben G. had an improved 400 with a 62.7 clocking and Anton M. followed closely behind with his best effort of the year (63.6).  Emerson M. scored in two events, the 1600 and 3200 meter races with a 5:18.9 and 12:00.5 (PR) respectively.  Tom L. threw the shot-put 30’08” for an improvement and score

Brendon C.’s two individual efforts in the 1600 and 3200 produced conference records (4:35.8 and 10:09.5 respectively).  Chase R. erased his own conference record with a quality 400 meter time of 50.90.  They both will be highly favored to qualify next week and move into the CIF Southern Section finals as will the boys and girls 4×400 relay teams.

A great and grand thank you is extended to all of the parents who were wonderfully supportive throughout the year and who took the time on this particular day to show-up and cheer us on.  Go Huskies.

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Senior Speech: Jonathan C. 5/4/12

May 4th, 2012
By Jonathan C.
A lot of people come up here and say that they have been thinking about what they are going to give their senior speech about for years. I started a couple of hours before I had to turn it in. About 10 different things came to mind from football to trying hard in school, but the idea that stuck was one of my best friends, Mike Garcia, not for the reason most of you are thinking. Yes, what happened on January 5, 2011 was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to deal with, but im going to talk about the effect he had on me before that.
When I was at South High I was not the same person I am today. I did everything to impress other people. I tried to be who everyone wanted me to be, and those of you who know me today know this isn’t true anymore. I owe that to Mike.
When I first came to RHP I was still in the mindset where I had to impress people. I was the jock who only cared about football and girls. But when I started hanging out with Mike, that slowly began to change. One of the best memories I have of Mike was within the first few weeks I knew him. We were going down to 7/11 to buy some Gatorade before a football game, and the first song that came on was “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus. I didn’t know what to do. What would people think of two guys driving down PV Drive in a lifted truck with all the windows down, blasting Miley Cyrus? I looked over, thinking he would be fumbling with his phone embarrassed that a song like that had come on, but instead I found him singing along, driving with his knees so that he could do a dance he and Meredith H. had come up with. He simply did not care. It took a little while but within a couple of weeks, I was right there singing and dancing with him. Taylor Swift was the next step. Before I came to RHP no one knew that I was a fan, and I intended to keep it that way, but after a couple of months here, I was sitting shotgun in Coleman rolling down PCH with Mike and Chase singing “You Belong with Me” at the top of my lungs. From that point on I realized it didn’t matter what other people thought, that I had way more fun being the person I truly am instead of trying to impress everyone around me. This quickly started affecting everything I did. This new-found freedom from the judgment of those around me even led me to start to dance, in public at least, which is now one of my favorite things to do.
I could have come up here and given an intellectual speech about my personal growth or tried to impress all of you with stories of success, but instead I just want to leave you with one simple piece of advice. Don’t care about what other people think of you. This doesn’t mean to go out and try to oppose everyone just because you can, but rather to stay true to yourself. One thing I have learned through my high school experience is to always be yourself. Life’s too short to waste on trying to make other people happy. If you like dancing, dance. If you like singing, sing.  Just be you.

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Senior Speech: Hunter M. 5/3/12

May 4th, 2012
By Hunter M.
Good morning everyone, my name is Hunter M., not Matthew as some of you have come to believe. Today I am going to talk about something very dear to my heart, something that is a part of my daily life. I’m talking about procrastination. Many people will try to tell you that procrastinating is bad, but in fact procrastination can be quite helpful. For example it was procrastinating writing this speech that led me to finish a recent Cho assignment I might not have otherwise completed, and while I was procrastinating writing that very essay, I enrolled in an online course on the computer language python. Over the years, through trial and error (mostly error), I have mastered the delicate art of managing procrastination effectively and efficiently. In the past when I would procrastinate I would sit around and accomplish nothing, while today while I’m still procrastinating I am actually getting work done. I used to always leave assignments until the last minute and instead play video games or waste time, and my assignments would never get done on time, which was a dangerous practice. I would have a big essay due on a Monday and not start it until 10 PM on Sunday, staying up until 2 AM just so I could finish it. I still got good grades but it wasn’t easy and I was always tired. It was when I decided I could be doing better things with my time that I decided to divert my procrastination on to productivity. By learning how to harness the power of procrastination you can become quite productive. But the most difficult thing to learn is how to know when it’s time to get serious and focus on what needs to be done. Acquiring that skill is what allows procrastinators to not fall behind continue to succeed.

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