Graduation Speech: Ahead of Us Stands Life

Here we are. Seventeen or eighteen years of life. Thirteen years of schooling. And now, ahead of us, is life. We stand now in the face of the exhilarating yet terrifying unknown. Leaving the tedious constraints of high school introduces us to a new chapter in our lives, unlocking a world of boundless freedom and limitless opportunities.

While I have loved my time at Macleans, the experiences we’ve had and the views we hold of Macleans will all be different. But, I believe we are now all ready to take the next step. To create a life we love and begin the pursuit of what sets each of our souls on fire. To live life the way we have always imagined. As William Wallace said, “Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. ” It is our time now to truly experience life, in all of its beauty and grandeur. But, there is so much more to living than to simply exist. There is so much more to life than doing the same monotonous tasks day in and day out. And there is certainly more to life than personal gain, or climbing the corrupted social ladder. Material possessions, followers and other profoundly sick measurements of self-worth eventually amount to little more than a hollow, unfulfilling life.

Steve Jobs once said, “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters” We are born the same way, and we will all inevitably die one way or the other. But, what we do with our time on this earth is solely up to us. Though our future paths will differ from one another, we must all remember to appreciate the things that make life meaningful. To strip away the superficial and bask in all the beauty and magic life has to offer. For the past thirteen years, we’ve been living a watered-down version of life. A life that is not entirely our own. Standardised testing, set curriculums and rote learned behaviours all designed to make us conform. But now, as we are unleashed into the world, our very own goals and dreams are at our fingertips. The future is ours. You have the power to create any future that you want, and it is imperative that you take no notice of those who try to dissuade you from pursuing your dream. This is not your practice life, so why would you waste it settling for anything less than your dream?

My goal is to become a surgeon in the future. For me, there is no career that compares. There is nothing I would rather do than dedicate my life to saving the lives of others. Yet still, people have told me that I should do something less stressful, I’m going to waste my life in a hospital or that I need to have a backup plan. And my answer to that is no. My reason is that I simply refuse to settle for anything else. If it takes me 10 years to get accepted to medical school, I will do it. Despite what anyone tells you, if you want something bad enough, and you are prepared to do whatever it takes, you can achieve anything. It is only the ones who are crazy enough to believe in their dreams that will actually go onto achieve them. For years at school we have been force-fed this idea of ‘smart goals’, and are continually told to “be realistic. ” John Eliot once said “As soon as anybody starts telling you to be realistic, cross that person off your invitation list”. Who says we can’t earn a billion dollars, save lives, own an empire, fly to outer space, become a professional athlete, sign a record deal, publish a book? Anything and everything is possible if you simply believe. And, we are in control of not only our futures, but the people we will grow to be. I believe who we are is not a reflection of what has happened to us but rather how we have dealt with the things that have happened to us. In a game of cards, while the person who is dealt the best hand certainly has an advantage, the winner of the game is not determined by the cards each person is dealt but rather the choices each player makes, and the way they use those cards. I see life in the same way. Inevitably some will have circumstances that are better than others. But the real game lies in the decisions, consequences and risks that we each take. Those who continually make the best decisions in each situation end up winning, not only in a game of cards but in life. It is up to construct our future, to use what we have when we have it, and make the best out of every situation.

To achieve success, for which the definition is different for each of us, we must continue to strive towards it fearlessly, each and every day. We must not become complacent with our time, which is our most precious resource, otherwise five years will pass and we will be no closer to our dreams. Some define success as being able to look back on your life with no regrets. You don’t want to lie on your deathbed, wondering what could have been had you only pressed on through adversity, or tried just one more time. So I urge you to not give up on a dream due to judgement, or the amount of time it will take to achieve it. Do not give up just because you made a mistake, or did not gain success, as those moments are the greatest learning experiences, and truly shape you into the person you will become. But at the same time as striving to have no regrets, we must remember that we will all make mistakes and there will inevitably be dreams that aren’t fulfilled. As we grow and develop, it is only natural for our dreams, too, to change. And although our dreams may shift in the future, we are always better for having pursued them. We cannot allow ourselves to dwell in the past on lost dreams or failures and forget about the future. Or most importantly the present. When I say to live without regrets, I also mean to truly live in the present, and not let the precious moments pass by. Those special seconds, minutes and hours that truly make life worth living. It is so easy to have a limb in the past and the future, that we forget about the present. But the past is only the present gone by, and the future is only the present to come.

If you forget to stop and look around and truly cherish the moments, you are left with little of either. Ahead of us stands life, in all of its grandeur. Ahead of us are friends we are yet to meet, and the families we are yet to love. Ahead of us stands the goals we are yet to reach, and the dreams we are yet to realise. Ahead of us stands life. Let’s live it.