Life moves fast, and we don香蕉视频直播檛 always get the chance to thank the people who matter most, so before I start, there are some very necessary thank-yous due. I香蕉视频直播檇 like to extend our most sincere appreciation to all the admin, teachers, and support staff who have given us the skills we need to prosper at KSS. \
I want to thank all the incredible parents, family, ChatGPT, and friends who have dropped everything to show up for us in times of need. We wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be here without the love and support of the people in this room. Today is as much about you as it is about us.
We have been busy at KSS for the last three years, tirelessly mastering our core competencies. We香蕉视频直播檝e learned that the more times you can write collaboration and communication in an essay, the better your grade will be, and that no matter how many times a teacher explains what core competencies are, nobody really knows.
Time flies when you香蕉视频直播檙e having fun, and nothing quite says fun like hours spent sharpening your critical thinking skills, so it香蕉视频直播檚 no surprise that our high school experience has zipped by in the blink of an eye. I remember wandering the halls in Grade 10, amid what seemed to be infinite staircases, afraid to try anything new or put myself out there more than I absolutely had to.
Looking back on it now, I almost didn香蕉视频直播檛 try out for the soccer team that changed my life. Even this year, I nearly didn香蕉视频直播檛 try out for the field hockey team because I was so worried I香蕉视频直播檇 look ridiculous playing. And to be fair, I did look ridiculous香蕉视频直播� nobody thought to tell me field hockey wasn香蕉视频直播檛 a contact sport and that you really can香蕉视频直播檛 use your feet. Luckily, nobody really watches field hockey.
However ridiculous I may have looked, I can香蕉视频直播檛 imagine the person I香蕉视频直播檇 be without that experience and that team. From the self-belief instilled by the coaches to the lifelong friendships made, field hockey was the greatest family I could香蕉视频直播檝e asked for. Had you told me in Grade 10 that I香蕉视频直播檇 be playing in a field hockey provincial championship, I probably would香蕉视频直播檝e transferred to OKM.
But my time at KSS, and the people inside these walls, have taught me that growth requires getting out of your comfort zone. My only regret now is that I didn香蕉视频直播檛 play sooner. I香蕉视频直播檝e learned to live my life with this mentality, to take every risk and to try everything I possibly can.
We get one life, so fill it with as much adventure, spontaneity, and joy as you can.
There aren香蕉视频直播檛 enough days in a year or years in our lives to worry about what the world will think. Our class has seen a lot of changes in the world. We got to middle school just as the pandemic hit, isolating us during some of our most formative years. At the lowest points, it was hard to imagine a day like today could be possible, with so many of the people we love all in one room, celebrating together.
We got to KSS in 2022, trying to learn our place as Grade 10s 香蕉视频直播� we香蕉视频直播檇 just lost all our seniority and were at the bottom of the food chain once again. Just as we began to find our footing, suddenly we were middle children again, stuck between feeling new and out of place, and the anticipation of graduating.
It was in that middle year that we discovered passions, built lasting friendships and learned what it meant to be an Owl. Looking back, I realize just how important that year was. It reminded us that growth doesn香蕉视频直播檛 always happen in the spotlight and that each little moment is just as important as the big ones.
Then, just like that, we were in Grade 12. Everything felt a little more emotional 香蕉视频直播� they were our first lasts. We donned our black and gold once again to watch our volleyball teams take on Best of the West, and then marched over to the Apple Bowl to cheer on our football team at homecoming. As the first Capstone approached, we all tried to figure out: What are we going to do after graduation.
Some of us decided to travel or enter the workforce right away and began planning for that. Those of us continuing our education started weighing our post-secondary options 香蕉视频直播� what programs did they have? Did they party too little, or too much? Was it really where we wanted to live? It felt like our entire future hinged on these decisions. We wrote essays, applied for scholarships, and did everything we could to set ourselves up for success.
Then we hit submit 香蕉视频直播� and waited. For months. But all during this time, our grad year didn香蕉视频直播檛 slow down. Between the Night Owl theatre香蕉视频直播檚 incredible performance of the Laramie Project, boys' soccer, curling matches, and field hockey, we were busy. At St. Michael香蕉视频直播檚, we saw our talented choral jazz perform, followed by Jazz at the Laurel. Then, in December, we turned our MPR into 1950s Hollywood for a memorable night of dancing, Oscar Awards and red carpets.
This was followed by a bittersweet winter break 香蕉视频直播� all our last KSS holiday celebrations. January brought a rush of staying true to our nocturnal mascot spirit, as we pulled many late nights studying for our first semester finals. As this came to a close, it really hit us all 香蕉视频直播� this was about to be our very last semester of high school.
We didn香蕉视频直播檛 let our feelings get to us too much, as we stormed back out as Crazy Owls to take on our last Westerns. We bought jerseys to support Jumpstart and promised to be well-behaved on the baselines. Between Robotics and Trades competitions to the French Immersion exchange to Lyon, spring break arrived quickly. Airband followed soon after, and the energy brought by the groups and the audience showed our true KSS spirit, and reminded us what an important event it is to our school culture.
We will never forget what it was like screaming at the top of our lungs when Taylor brought the Eras tour to KSS. In May, our musicians and vocalists wowed adjudicators at the Whistler music festival, while our golf, track and field, rugby, ultimate, and girls soccer teams carried the Owl name with pride. All this time, our artists continued lining our walls with masterpieces, capturing the spirit of our year.
Grad sleepover happened in April, and the idea of sleeping on the gym floor sounded more appealing to all of us until the basketball team showed up at 7 a.m. Then came prom, and months of prep and anticipation turned into an unforgettable night.
Now, as we stand at convocation, we look back on a year that flew by and can finally accept that it香蕉视频直播檚 coming to a close. It wasn香蕉视频直播檛 so much about what we did, but who we did it with. Each of our paths to get here has been unique, yet they香蕉视频直播檝e run alongside each other香蕉视频直播� shaped by the same hallways, classrooms, and die hard Owls spirit we香蕉视频直播檝e all shared. However, life after graduation is going to take us all in different directions, and our paths will no longer cross at 9 in the morning each weekday.
I香蕉视频直播檓 beyond excited to see where we all find ourselves, and I can香蕉视频直播檛 wait to see everyone show up in my feed in ten years, with new jobs, new families, or new adventures. I hope we will be able to smile amid the wave of nostalgia, remembering just how young we were when we filled the halls with laughter and sat at the desks where these dreams were born. Know that wherever life takes you, there is love and support from your Owls family backing you.
There is beauty in shared laughter, reassurance in shared frustration, and resilience in shared tears. The most important part of anything you do is finding the people that make doing it worthwhile.
Once you leave the school and these halls, the memories will start to fade. The daily schedule that once engineered your days will slowly slip away, reviving itself only when you check the time one morning and find that it香蕉视频直播檚 10:19, and suddenly feel a wave of nostalgia, remembering crowded hallways, a rush to beat bathroom lines, to find your friends, or to be the first in line for raw pancakes. Little pause. The things that seem so big now will one day feel small in hindsight, and make us wish we香蕉视频直播檇 taken just one more minute to soak them in when we香蕉视频直播檇 had the chance. Although high school might not have been the best experience for everyone, there will be times when you wish you could travel back to simpler days, and you香蕉视频直播檒l miss the familiarity of a place where so much felt known. \
My advice to you is to remember that one day, you香蕉视频直播檒l look back on these moments in the same way, wishing you could reverse time just to relive them again. So, live in the moment. You香蕉视频直播檒l only be there once. As the past three years have shown us, time will slip away faster than you think possible.
Yes, go out into the world chasing fulfillment and purpose. Never settle for anything less. But along the way, find beauty in the ordinary, mundane everyday tasks we let slip into routine. What a privilege it is to stay up late studying, to get to work, to rake your neighbour香蕉视频直播檚 lawn, to have a neighbour. So much of life gets brushed aside because we are constantly searching for the next big thing. Of course, celebrate big moments and milestones like today. But savour the little ones too, the moments that have been quietly shaping us all along.
Although graduating high school is our biggest milestone to date, the grades the books and the test scores are not what we are meant to take away from our time at KSS. When we look back on our lives, it won香蕉视频直播檛 be the awards on our shelves or the degrees on our walls that we want to fill our rooms with. It香蕉视频直播檚 people.
Yes, this school has given us a diploma to commemorate hours of hard work. But it has also given us powerful friendships, mentors, and memories that have shaped us. This community has taught us all more than any books ever could. And so, as you go out into the world beyond KSS, measure your success not in terms of awards and accolades, but in terms of lives you香蕉视频直播檝e impacted. Don香蕉视频直播檛 rush through life chasing your next milestone. Keep looking around, finding meaning exactly where you are, and holding close to those people who make this journey worth taking. Never forget that making connections, loving, and being loved, is the whole point.
If you take anything away from this speech today, make it be the faces of those around you. You香蕉视频直播檒l find your own inspiration along your journey, and nothing I say here will stick with you forever, but when you look back on this day, what truly matters is the people who sit beside you.
Years from now, when you香蕉视频直播檙e out doing the remarkable things that this class is destined for, I know you香蕉视频直播檒l carry a piece of this place 香蕉视频直播� and these people香蕉视频直播� with you. I hope the world enjoys watching you grow old, almost as much as I香蕉视频直播檝e enjoyed growing up with you.
