Step By Step

(posted by popular demand and reprinted by permission of Chloé Guillemot, who delivered this commencement speech [chosen in a blind evaluation by district administrators] at Del Mar Middle School Graduation on June 13th, 2007)

Congratulations! You’ve just climbed 100 thousand steps of your life staircase. Great job – only a couple more million to go! But don’t sweat it – we’ve made it this far and I know we can climb higher. Take a look at the people around you. You know everyone, and they know you. We are basically one big family, alike and different in our own ways. For the most part, from the time we learned our ABC’s to the time we learned to factor equations, this Class of 2007 has been together. Having only been here since 4th grade, I don’t know my classmates as much as others do, but I feel just as connected to everyone as those who have been together since Pre-K.

Remembering my first day of school at Bel Aire brings back one of my most treasured memories. It was recess, and I was wearing some spandex pants and an ugly neon colored turtleneck, and I stood alone looking for something to do. I was just about to leave when a girl started dragging me across into the four square cube commanding me to play. Thinking she was a little wacky, I stepped out of the square and looked away shyly. But she insisted that I play with her, and that’s when it hit me – I had just made my first Bel Aire friend. Could it be real? I pinched myself to check, and sure enough, there I was in the middle of a group of people playing four square. Never, in all of the other schools I had attended, did I make a friend as fast as I did at Bel Aire. From that point on, I knew the Reed Union schools would be my favorite schools and a great place to make new friends and meet new people. And just to let you in on a little secret, the girl who dragged me over to play and I thought was such a freak is actually one of my best friends to this day.

But that’s enough about me. Today has been created to commemorate a passage for each one of us, and for the fantastic times we’ve shared together throughout the years. We started out as pieces of string, and were gradually woven together into strong bonds of a beautiful blanket. Each thread tells a different story, but this tapestry we’ve created tells one story that connects us all. It tells us about Reed, where small kids chased each other around playing tag and trying not to get cooties. It tells about our times in Bel Aire, hiding under tables from the bees at lunch. And finally it illustrates our experiences at Del Mar, where we metamorphosed from silly kids into mature people. So much has taken place since the day we were born; yet we are not even half way through our lives. We will be forced to make choices, we will all make mistakes and learn from them, we will endure pain and sadness, and we will experience utter happiness. These things are each a part of life, and we will have to encounter them at some point. But don’t be scared, because these first stages of our lives have prepared us for whatever comes our way. That’s what growing up is about – learning to be independent and how to face challenges on our own. We’re on our way down that bumpy path right now. And wherever life takes us – whatever path we choose to take – will determine who we are.

So, I ask you once more, Class of 2007, to take a look around you. Though high school will come and separate some of us, we will never forget this part of our life. It is from pre-K to eighth grade where we learned to love, cry, laugh, perform, make friends, share special moments, act silly, play, dance, scream, strengthen bonds, and transform into who we are right now. The friends we’ve made will always have a special place in our hearts, no matter how far apart from each other we may find ourselves.

Many years from now, we will have a tremendous appreciation and respect for everything that our teachers taught us. They are the ones who remind us of the Reed School District Mission Statement: “Together we provide our children with extraordinary opportunities to enlighten their minds, inspire their hearts, and strengthen their resolve to positively impact the world.” All of these elements we should be grateful for, however big or small, because they guided us towards being kind, good, helpful, and knowledgeable people. Congratulations, eighth graders! You’ve just climbed 100 thousand steps of your life staircase– only a couple more million to go…