Alyssa Westfall Valedictorian Address

Good morning. First of all, let me congratulate all of my fellow classmates on all of our accomplishments through the years. We’ve made it through a lot of trying times and challenges but we never let anything keep us down and now we’ve made it to graduation. People always say that graduation is the beginning of their lives, but it’s not. It’s just the beginning of another chapter of our lives. This year, I read a novel called Tess of the D’Urbervilles. This novel was divided into different sections and each was a different part of Tess’s life. Graduation is like we are all changing sections in our lives, going from children to adults. Through all the years, we have laughed, cried, and learned, taking in many new ideas that have prepared us for our futures and going through experiences that changed our lives forever.

Is it just me or does it seem like our class has always gotten the short end of the stick? It always seems like everything is against us. But did we ever let that stop us or get us down? Of course not, because we’re the class of 2010 and nothing could ever change that. Our bad luck started way back in elementary school where we had so many principals that I probably couldn’t name more than two or three out of the many. Different administrators every year and no consistency ever. Then came fifth grade, where SARS and the 9/11 attacks almost ruined our trip to Montreal. Then came the worst part of all the years, the death of our friend and classmate Stephanie Murphy died last year. We had all been so excited for senior year and then this happened, putting a damper on the year before it even started. We all miss Steph a lot, and this actually helped to bring us all a lot closer this year.

Our class has been together for almost 13 years. We had some people come into the district after kindergarten and have had many classmates leave through the years, but the Class of 2010 that is here today are very close due to how long we have known each other. We’ve all been friends forever even though we have grown apart as we’ve gotten older. But this year, the loss of Stephanie brought us all back together. We all had a common reason to come back together, and this was missing a major part of our lives. This year, we all became much closer than we’ve been in years past, allowing us to have new memories this year that we will never forget.

Although we’ve had our problems, we’ve also had a lot of good times through the years. Just a few days ago we were reminiscing about the many field trips, dances, and other school activities throughout the years that we will never forget. We had lots of fun at all these event and we’ll never forget the memories each gave us. Trips to aquariums, the 8^th grade dinner dance, and of course the many fun times we’ve had since we started high school. We’ll never forget the good times we’ve had or the friends we’ve made and the good times will stay in our minds forever.

From past to present, everything we have encountered has prepared us for our future. We’ve overcome every obstacle that has been put in our way, all to reach this goal of graduation. And here we are. After all of our hard work, we are ready to embark on a new journey. We are all headed down different paths, but we all feel prepared for whatever comes our way because of our time here at Webutuck. We know will continue to conquer adversity and we won’t let anything stop us from reaching our goals.

Our time at Webutuck has come to a close and after today, it’s all up to us where we will go. We feel prepared thanks to our time here for the past thirteen years. We all owe a lot to our teachers, administrators, and especially our parents for encouraging and helping us throughout the years. With their help, we are fit to do whatever we can dream up for our futures. In closing, I would like to leave you with words spoken by Arie Pencovici, a motivational speaker. Pencovici said “Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.” There is truth in this statement and we should learn to follow this and as she said, we will be able to make a difference in our world. Congratulations to Webutuck’s Graduating Class of 2010!! Thank you.