Message To The Class Of 2012: Take The Risks, Have No Regrets

Here is the address made by , Port Chester High School Valedictorian, to the Saturday morning:

When I finally started to write this speech, I was making a list of things I wanted to make sure I needed to include; instead I had a longer list of what not to include.  I still don’t know what in the world I am doing, but I’m going to try to make this fast and as painless as possible.  I don’t know about all of you, but I’m ready to get out of here.

So here goes…

Good afternoon, buenos dias.  My name is Aimee Naranjo.  Most of you probably don’t know me.  For some of you, this might be the first time you’ve seen me.  Then there are the few of you who really know me and the pain I can be.  It’s amazing to me that we’ve been in the same building, probably at the same events, hanging out and all the while enjoying the friends we have and the time together seemed like it would go on forever.  

Now this chapter is coming to a close, but before we leave, take a moment and look around you.  Who is around you?  What did you do this last year in school?  How much have you changed?  Who have you become? Some of you might have the answer, but it’s okay if you don’t right now.

As we venture into the great unknown and begin another chapter in our journey to face the “real” world, we may cross paths again.  Friends today may become strangers, and the strangers you see around you today may become friends.  There is still so much in store for the future and though we put on a face of excitement, let us really confront the lingering feeling we all have, and that is FEAR.  Graduating high school seems to be the end, but it is only the start of our new and independent lives.  Therein lies a bit of fear.  

Now as we all go out and begin to make our way and time begins to pass more quickly, take a moment and ask yourself “Do you still believe in all the things that you stood by before?”  

You may find that you don’t anymore.  There are circumstances that will change our way of seeing the world and our ideas will be challenged forcing us to make different judgments.  

Ask yourself, “Are you out there on the front lines, or at home keeping score? Did you take the risk or take on the challenge that was laid out in front of you? Or did fear hold you back?” 

Remember life is not a dress rehearsal; you only get to do it once.  So take the risks, have no regrets, but learn from your downfalls and prepare to rise again. Fall down seven times, but stand up eight. 

We may all be different but we can find a common ground in fear. Fear of new places. Fear of new people. Fear of coming back home and seeing each other differently. But taking those steps into new territory and facing new obstacles makes us stronger. 

There is still so much in store for the future. Today is only the beginning. Travel the world, form new relationships, try new things. "Let’s decide to be the architects, the masters of our fate," After all you only live once, so take charge of your own futures. 

I never imagined standing here in front of all of you. Honestly it feels surreal. I want to thank my teachers for their guidance and support. To my friends for always being reliable and believing in me until the end. And thank you to my mom, dad, and stepdad. With their struggles and sacrifices, I have had the chance to do well in school and the chance to have a bright future. Being the oldest child to immigrant parents is not easy. It calls for much more responsibility to make something of yourself and to be successful. 

Take every great opportunity that opens up because you never know where it will lead. Never let anyone decide who you are and always have faith in yourself. Congratulations to the class of 2012 and in the words of write Suzanne Collins, "May the odds be ever in your favor."