Sarah’s Commencement Speech to the Class of 2023

Graduating Seniors of 2023, this time in your life is full of excitement…. curiosity…. fear….. nervousness…. freedom…. accountability…. And a new level of your life being unlocked in ways you could never imagine. This is a time of discovery. A time where you risk everything. When it feels like things are changing every week - Every month! Remember one important thing: The people around you are ALSO going through their own journey. Practicing patience will be your biggest strength. PRESS PLAY BELOW TO HEAR THE SPEECH [audio mp3="https://wkml.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2023/06/Sarah-Graduation-2023.mp3"][/audio] Patience in people. Patience in yourself. Patience in what you can't control. A word of advice - don’t stay at that party past 12am. Nothing good happens after 12am. Don't let another person make you doubt yourself. Don’t skip your college classes. And definitely don’t skip your vegetables. Show up for yourself. In every way possible. Remember that you are capable of more than you think you are. Remember that LEARNING is more important than you can imagine. ALWAYS, CONSTANTLY, CONSISTENTLY, be learning. Read. Write. Pick up a new book. Start a new language. Start a puzzle. Just never let your brain be stagnant. Make mistakes… And make mistakes…. And make more and more and more mistakes! Perfection is not the goal. Even when you think you have an end goal… there IS no end goal. You will always be striving. Always be working. Always be wanting more. There is no “perfection”. No “I completed it all”.... It has always been, and will always continue to be, about the journey. So make the mistakes. Fall and get back up. Fail and fail and fail again. Because this is the best time to do it. And then get back up over and over and over again. I hope you change your mind a thousand times. I hope you meet a million people. I hope you smile and make a hundred peoples day. I hope you remember that at the end of the day, we are all human and our most basic daily goals should be to practice kindness and spread love. I hope you learn to always pack extra Tylenol. Dump the guy that you’re unsure about. Tell the girl how you feel. Bring the jacket. Grab the snacks. Go on the adventures. And enjoy every exciting, surprising twist and turn of the ride. Congratulations class of 2023!