Valedictory_Address

Good afternoon parents, teachers, administrators, friends, family, and most importantly seniors. My name is Davis Normand, and I am the Valedictorian for the class of 2012. We are gathered here today to witness a great stage in our lives come to a conclusion. These seniors, seated here today, are ready to take the final step in their high school careers and graduate. I remember my first day at East Ascension High; the anxious feeling of the first day of school multiplied by one hundred. I was terrified; I had never met most of these people and now I was going to be thrown into a room with them. Luckily for us, we had the House of Sparta, a special introductory experience for high school. In it, we were shielded from the tough upperclassmen and had nothing to worry about, except for our grades. As the years passed, things got easier and more and more acquaintances became friends. From Homecoming, to Gator Day, Sadie Hawkins, Prom, and many other events we became closer and closer friends. Eventually, culminating in the tight knit group that are gathered here today. One of my favorite events was Ring Day, the day we receive our senior class rings. At our school, Ring Day is a huge deal. We spend all year preparing our rings and paying for them. Then, on that wonderful day in mid-March, we prepare to receive our rings and be officially noticed as seniors. The week before is spent preparing, from making shirts to picking out an outfit. The day of, we all wear our hand-made, Ring Day shirts to school and parade around in them. As the school day comes ever closer to an end, we begin to feel anxious. We get in our cars and ride home to prepare for the forthcoming night. My own personal Ring Day experience was unlike most others. I had not spent much time preparing at all. I even waited until the night before to make my shirt, and my outfit was hardly ready. I made plans to eat crawfish with my sister, as it was the beginning of the crawfish season, which was, in retrospect, a terrible idea. About an hour before we were supposed to show up, I still needed to iron my shirt and my pants. I had never ironed anything before, so, I got my sister to iron my clothes for me. She did my shirt first, followed by my pants. Unfortunately, something went terribly wrong when she ironed my pants and she burned a massive hole in them. Obviously, this was unacceptable. We immediately got in the car and rushed to the Tanger Outlet Mall. We went to two stores before we ultimately decided on Banana Republic. We went inside and found a magnificent, powder-blue shirt, matching my "lady-killer" eyes perfectly, and a nice pair of black pants. With barely enough time to try them on before we rushed out of the store, the shirt was slightly too big. However, this was not a big deal, so we moved on. We arrived on time and I went to join the rest of my class in the cafeteria, while my sister went into the gym to grab a spot for my grandparents. The administrators made a serious issue about the dress code, within reason, sending a couple of girls home; however, they did receive their rings that night. The first thirty minutes went by quickly. We sat around conversing with friends while the administrators ran around frantically trying to make sure everyone was dressed properly. The next thirty minutes seemed to last an eternity. We could feel every second pass. Eventually, the time to line up came. You could taste the apprehension each of us felt. We began to walk, two by two, out of the cafeteria, through the courtyard, and into the gym. One of my favorite memories was the appearance of the crowd. Each dressed in their Sunday’s Best, a rainbow of colors, pride on each of their faces; cheering as we took our seats. Mrs. McCorkle, our new principal, opened with an incredible speech about our class, showing how much she loved all of us. We went through the motions, saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem-most of us not having the self-control to stand still and remain quiet. The ceremony began and time seemed to move ever slower, so impossibly slow, as each name was called before mine. Our rows stood as one, perfectly in sync, sluggishly moving towards the line where we waited for our name to be called, in order to receive our rings. As the ceremony moved ever forward, the students with their rings nervously fiddled with their boxes. Meanwhile, those of us to not yet receive our rings wiggled in our chairs, not wanting to embarrass ourselves. As the time came for my row to move into line, the nervousness began to hit me. I waited patiently, anxiety growing, for every single person in my row to go before me, watching quietly as each of their names were called. Finally, the time came for my name to be called. Mrs. McCorkle called "Davis Normand" and I began to walk, as uneasily as possible, across the gym. I shook hands with our administrators, received my ring, and went back to my seat, relieved. As I sat there, thinking of the future, I began to realize that everything I had strived for these past twelve years was coming to an end. One year remained of my high school career and I was awe-struck. Even though the ceremony seemed to last eternally, through patience and dedication, we were able to advance in that stage of our lives. This experience taught me that no matter how hard it seems during an event, the outcome is always better than what you had previously hoped. I cannot remember a prouder moment in my life than when I realized that everything I had worked for was finally going to pay off. This gave me a fantastic outlook on the rest of my senior year, and now I am ready to take the final step in my high school career. Looking forward, I know I will be forced to endure many hardships, from life at college to having a family of my own. I hope that this experience has taught me enough to know that I should never give up. Even the roughest of times can have an excellent result, and even though something seems so daunting it can always be overcome. There is nothing in this life that cannot be achieved when the right amount of effort is put into it. As I look into the crowd, hoping this has helped everyone in some way or another, I see the faces of my friends. Even though I realize this is the last time this amazing group of students will all be gathered together, I can't help but feel excited about the bright future each of us has in store. I hope that this experience will help all of you and allow you to push through the inevitable down times that you will all face. I hope that everyone can look inside themselves and find someone they would like to thank for their help over the years. Personally, I would like to take this time to thank all of my teachers, from Kindergarten through twelfth grade, as well as my friends and family. Without them, I would not be the person I am today. My mother has always been behind me one hundred percent, and she is the main reason I stand here today. I would also like to wish everyone good luck, for whatever you choose to do, and don't forget that anything in life worth having requires effort. In other words, nothing worth having comes free.