My Long-Forgotten 2012 Salutatorian Speech.
Good Morning ladies and gentlemen and Welcome!
It is such a humbling honor for me to address this dignified gathering of administrators, teachers, family and friends and of course, my Amityville Memorial Class of 2012 mates!
Over the past month, I have been dreading this moment. I cannot mention the number of times I took out paper in an attempt to write “a” speech only to end up staring at it with a blank mind clueless about what to write. Being the teenager that I am, I resorted to YouTube for “inspiration” and accidentally fell into the world of college commencement addresses such as Jane Lynch’s at Smith College, Adam Samberg’s at Harvard College and President Obama’s at Barnard College. These addresses were so inspirational and thought-provoking that I doubted I could stand in front of you today to deliver a speech of similar significance.
It did not make things any easier hearing the “You Are Not Special” speech given at the Wellesley High School on almost every news station I tuned into about two weeks ago. For those of you who do not know, I came to Amityville Memorial from a small country on the West African coast called Ghana. I do not consider myself special by any means, however I do believe that as we receive our diplomas today, we should all feel special in our little ways.
Every one of us has a different story as to what brought us this far and kept us motivated. We have received an education that others are not privileged to. In my country, some people have to walk miles of un-tarred roads and cross rivers to access education. We have faculty and staff willing to listen to us no matter what and may even respond to emergency emails or texts in the middle of the night (Thank you Sir Seubert!) We should know we are considered special by all. Most of us have our entire family here today to show support while some of us may have a few or even one. (Hi Dad!) You are considered special by whoever is in the audience behind you.
I have had an emotionally packed four years. From happiness and sadness to everything in between. I could not have survived it all without the friends I made — from the friends who rung my doorbell every morning to make sure I did not miss my bus, to the friends who kept me company in the various corners I sat at every morning, at lunch or during my free periods all four years. I very much appreciate your company and I am sure you already know this.
On behalf of my colleagues, I wish to express our profound gratitude to everyone, especially staff and family, who have made this day a dream come true. I believe I convey the sentiments of the graduating class when I say that we would not have made it this far without your support.
As we all go to our various colleges, universities or workplaces in various states or here in New York, learn to make your own choices and accept the responsibility for the choices you make. Do not worry about making mistakes but be humble and brave to admit, correct and learn from the mistakes you make. As both the author and protagonist of your life story, you have the chance to right the wrongs that might come your way. After all, you do have your whole life ahead of you. What was once a nerve-racking place your first week in 9th grade, has grown to become your protection and comfort. Never forget this humble school known as Amityville Memorial. Although some of you might doubt this, it has made us who we are today. There will come a September morning when you are going to miss this place, the teachers or friends you may have unfortunately lost contact with.
We’ve been authoring our stories together these four years knowingly or unknowingly. You are about to write the next chapter of your life story. Do not let anyone take the pen from you. Do not let the opinions of others define who you are or what your life should be. You will definitely come across people who will try to and persist on telling you who to be — ignore these people. As I like to always say and may have already written in some of your yearbooks; — Stay true to who you are. Live true to that unique person in you. There is absolutely no one else in the world like you so why lose the special person that you are? Draw inspiration from the life of others but know that your original experience will be of a richer substance if it is authored by you.
Thank you all and congratulations to the Class of 2012!!
Cindy Coffee
Salutatorian. Amityville H.S.
June 2012
