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Heidi Austin,
Valedictorian
As we count down the final moments until we will receive our high school diplomas, I would like to share with you what life really means to me. From the time we were born to the day we began our senior year, our lives have been a never ending ride. As we learned how to walk, talk, read, and write, we have all grown into young adults with great potential. God has blessed each one of us with gifts and talents that are waiting to be used for the fulfillment of His will. Those of us who continue our education at different colleges next year, will each pursue a major that we feel is God’s will for our life. Whether our major is business, education, interior design, engineering, or ministry, we will all need to work towards our full potential in order to prepare ourselves for our future careers. As we look back on the past years education that we have received, not only have we prepared ourselves for college, but we have also learned many life lessons that will help us in the future. Just like a clock will never go counterclockwise, we can never go back in our lives to change situations we might regret. Rather than dwelling on our mistakes in life, we need to learn from the lessons they have taught us. We now understand that the amount of effort we put into our endeavors, will always equal our rewards. Success is neither a right nor an obligation, but rather a privilege that must be earned. Each one of us here today dedicated ourselves to the goal we have now achieved. However, not one of us would be here if we had not persevered through our failures. We have all experienced many trials, tragedies, and triumphs, to become the individuals we are today. The great philosopher and writer Ayn Rand once said, “Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision.” As we are coming to the end of the road in which we have been traveling on for the past 18 years of our lives, it is time for us to go our separate ways and start on the next road of life. Now as many of us move away to attend distant colleges and universities, we will be armed only with the life lessons we have learned and the visions we have for our futures. Many times throughout our educational career, we have felt lonely or inadequate. We must remember that success is measured by how we see ourselves in our own eyes, not how others see us. A man who judges himself by the respect of others loses respect for himself. We will never feel worthy if we are constantly comparing ourselves to the stereotypes that the world has set before us. God has created us all with purpose and design. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Many times we overlook the powerful meaning of the verse. Although it has been hard sometimes, we need to always remember that with God all things are possible. When the road gets rough in life, we easily forget why we are here. Rather than looking to the world for answers, we need to turn to our Creator and trust in Him to help us through our trials. To the graduating class of 2006: As we leave our sheltered environment and travel out into the real world, we will always remember the memories we shared here at North Florida Christian School. From the first time we walked through the blue halls filled with lockers, to our last steps down the high school breezeway, every moment we spent together will be cherished in our hearts. It is time for us to wipe away our tears and say our farewells. I love you all very much and pray that you will have an amazing future. Thank you for all you have done to make my high school experience better than I had ever imagined. The impact many of you have left on my life will remain with me forever. Although we assume it is time to say goodbye, it is rather a time to say farewell and anticipate the day we meet again. Not all of the friends we have right now will stay with us until the end, but there will be a few that will never leave our side. We can only pray that the ones that are moving away for college will cross our path in the future. Always remember what Orrin Hatch once said, “…Graduation is not the end, it is the beginning.” Thank you! |
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The
Tallahassee Comets, Inc. is a 501(C)(3)
Non-Profit Florida Corporation, |
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Pastor Ray, Dr. Fielding, Mr. Lieser,
Dean Phillips, Mrs. Burgess, Mr. John, faculty, family, friends, guests,
and the graduating class of 2006.