Good Morning. For my senior speech, I would like to start off with one of the recent pieces I wrote. It’s called
The Boy Who Couldn’t Breathe
“Breathe” they say to the boy, and he attempts to, but he can’t seem to grasp the air. He suffocates in the attempts, “my body seems to go numb” the boy says. His heart hardens to the thought of breathing. People saying “you will breathe one day,” flood through his head like the blood through his veins which lacked oxygen.
“Why do I need to breathe to live? The boy yells into the fog of the forest.The little air the boy had left his lungs. He realized the meaning of breathing. “I see that breathing is love and trust of the people around me” the boy silently says as he drops to the ground.
“My body feels a warmth as if the summer sun was smiling on me,” the boy says but when he looked up the boy only saw the gloom of the falling fog. He hears a little girl’s voice softly say “I’ll help you breathe, ” and the boy says “can you really?” in excitement and draws his final breath with a smile.
The curtain closes and the crowd claps then the crowd disappears like the boy's breath. The only thing left in the theater is the writer's final breath and her body lay there with a smile. “I understand you finally my friend” was her final words as a tear dripped down her face.
You may wonder why I wanted to start off like this? When I started high school I was afraid to be myself and was only surrounded by people who didn’t care what I was going through. I fought for myself through school being ridiculed called racial slurs while fighting my own demons. I was in a bad place when I came to see Coach Kitani about playing basketball. It was only supposed to be an assessment. He ended up sitting me down and saying “you think our school is a good fit for you?” he might not have known it then but he helped me come out of my shell.
Coach Kitani pushed me to get better grades and he taught me things other coaches wouldn’t. I started as a naive young adult and an incompetent player who lacked confidence. Coach taught me how to be a better person and a better student.The school opened its arms to me and helped me develop my education.
In addition to Coach Kitani, I wanted to give some shout outs to some other people, as well. Mr. Flamini guided me through the first two weeks like a soldier. I might have had a hard time staying in the office but every one in the office made me feel comfortable. Mr. Holloway assigned me a lot of homework the first couple weeks catching up on my reading ,but he taught me how through writing I could express myself and let my words be my guide. Mr. Matthews taught me if I struggle hard enough I can pass math class. Ms. Laudenberg helped me learn ASL and the culture which helped me connect with more people. Mr. Ramos helped me understand the world and politics which I had never had an interest in but now I enjoy. Mrs. K taught me to channel creativity through photos. My teammates were funny and shared the same aspiration for basketball I had which made practice fun. Coaches Cory and Manassa are inspirational in their coaching for all us to not just to be better players but to be even better young men.
I’d also like to thank our Head of School for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing school at an extremely crucial time in my life.
All in all, I am indebted to Rolling Hills Prep, the Administration, Teachers, Staff, Coaches and my phenomenal teammates!
Lastly, I want to thank my parents for allowing me to embark on this awesome journey!
Go Huskies!