Graduation Speech: God, Grant Me Wisdom :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

The year is 2038. I, Bob Millings, am a retired multi-millionare relaxing on the porch of my beach house on the Northshore of Oahu in the Hawaii Islands. Having already earned my millions from selling the hundreds of Ichiro cards that I amassed throughout the past 20 years, I have nothing else better to do than lay on my beach chair and soak up the rays. Suddenly a flock of seagulls (yes, seagulls fly in flocks) crosses my line of vision, and a tear comes to my eye. Oh, how that magnificent bird reminds me of the best four years of my life at County High School, the home of the Seagulls. My mind suddenly floats back 26 years to the past to a time when I was finishing up my career at that prestigious academy of learning. I didn't know it then, but some of my most valuable lessons were learned during those four years. No, I am not talking about those smarts I learned my freshman year, like remembering never to fall asleep in Mr. Bull's Biology class, or realizing that it was in my best interest to steer clear of the Senior Lot after school. Nor am I speaking about those important things I was taught during my crazy sophomore and junior years, like how important Planning Team is, how Wendy's is the best lunchtime meal around, or how a hook is one of the most important parts of an essay. I'm not even talking about those skills I picked up my senior year, like being able to get ready in the morning in less than seven minutes, remembering to switch arms while sleeping on a desk so your arm won't fall asleep, or those great moves I learned during chess days in Mrs. Johnson' s class. No, I am talking about that word that came into play time and time again during my high school career: acceptance. I constantly found myself in a position where I was on the brink of insanity during school. Maybe I was mad at one of my friends, or I had three tests in one day, or I was given a 500-page book to read in less than two weeks. There was always that thought in the back of my mind that I could just quit and forget about it all and stop caring. But than that word would come up, and I would accept all those things and realize that my friend and I would make up, those tests would be over soon, and that book is actually not all that bad.