I'm a big believer in transparency. To keep it short, I am walking up here today incredibly unprepared. This may sound bad to some, but I view it differently. Sure, I could have spent extra time preparing my speech or even practiced presenting it just a few times. But what fun is that? The most beautiful things in life come when least expected. The thrill of having no idea how this speech would go fills me with excitement that it probably shouldn't. Will it go terribly? Will it go great? Who knows. Now I am thrilled as I can finally come through with a vision I had in the seventh grade. Since I sat through my first speech at this school, I've known I wanted to do something different. I've had several ideas, but they failed to capture the spark I desired. I then remembered a childhood promise of mine. In seventh grade, I vowed to myself that one day I would walk up to this stage and talk about how Fortnite changed my life while drinking a diet coke.
Awfully specific, I know, but it was my dream for some reason. I was weirdly passionate about it too. The further I go along with the idea, the more I question it. Through all the good, it has still created some bad. Should I make my thirteen-year-old self proud or go with the flow and do what everybody else does? Ultimately I chose the right. While preparing this speech, I was truly stumped. How does one talk about something they are no longer interested in, let alone claim that it changed their life? I quickly became discouraged. However, I was so determined to fulfill this promise that I found a solution. I have had the blessing of hearing countless senior speeches throughout the years. The majority of which follow a simple formula. A life-changing story that changed them for the better. The problem is most end up more of an essay than a speech. I originally intended to walk up here and take the topic seriously, but that's just not me. It would have ended up fake.
I had to stay true to myself. No, Fortnite didn't really change my life; however, I would be lying to say it didn't impact it. I have bought an unforgivable amount of V-bucks using my mom's card and even had a underground fortnite empire where I bought and sold accounts. However, by fulfilling this promise, I am taking a risk. Unknowingly to you, you have had a glimpse inside of my mind. Although everything I previously stated about my promise is true, I left out an important detail.
Part of the promise was to create an equally confusing as memorable speech. This speech has not truly been about Fortnite but instead the process of writing this speech. Confused? Let me explain. My head moves at a very fast pace. I have always struggled to take my time. When writing essays, if I have an idea that I don't know how to transition to, I write it down and wait till I figure out how to implement it into my essay. This document was originally the place for my lost ideas. I went through several drafts trying to write a basic senior speech. I then decided to attach emotions to my lost ideas and walk you guys through what I was thinking while writing them. Through careful execution, I led you to believe I was following the standard senior speech formula. I know it doesn't make sense, but most things in life don't. I walked up here today with the sole goal of confusing you all, and I have succeeded. There is absolutely no reason for me to be wearing a Santa costume nor to be drinking diet coke, but still, here I am. There isn't an answer for everything.
I've been at RHP long enough for most of you to know that I like to stand out. It is incredibly important to be your own individual. My entire childhood, I had no anxiety or social fear and did things like this regularly until one day, at fifteen years old, everything changed. I remember constantly feeling uncomfortable in public. I didn’t know where to look or what to do with my arms. To be fair, arms are kinda weird though. Ninety percent of the time, they just hang there doing nothing. Anyways I was constantly worried about whether people liked me and just wanted to fit in. This is normal; almost everybody goes through a stage like this. Some people will never like you no matter what you do, while others will love you. If you have to become a fake version of yourself just for someone to like you, you shouldn't want to be associated with them. I am saying this because I want to make something very clear before I leave this stage today. It is important to be yourself. You shouldn't worry about what other people think about you. Now I know that it is easier said than done, but I got over my anxiety by doing things like this. This entire speech was to show you it’s okay not to care. Many people would be embarrassed to do this, but in the end, these things have little significance to the grand scheme of things. At the end of the day, these little moments make up such a small portion of your life. I can assure that on your death bed, you are not going to be thinking about some small embarrassing moment that happened when you were 17. Even if I were to embarrass myself today, you would probably forget about it within a week. Life is short; make the most of it. Take risks. Be bold, and be brave.
Thank you
Shout outs
Mom & Dad.
Thank you for being great parents. I really appreciate everything you have done for me throughout the years.