Page 67 - 2004

VALEDICTORY ADDRESS FOR THE NEW CURRICULUM GRADUATES 2002-2003
Good evening everyone. I would like to begin by thanking all of I mean, yeah, it was rough. I woke up at 6 am every morning to you for giving me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the catch my 7 o'clock bus, only to arrive in a classroom where I was 2002/2003graduatingclass.AsIstandhereandlookuponmy expectedtounderstandwhy8couldn'tbethederivativeofsix.Yet,
fellow graduates, I am overwhelmed with the words to describe the laughter and tears, headaches and heartaches, the beginning and the end that we have all experienced in the past four years here at CCI. I entered this school four years ago to what I saw as the beginning of my own journey to self discovery. Of course, in the start, I played the game: I followed the rules, listened to the teachers, and accepted the new world I had waltzed into. Al- thoughIbeganasjustanotherfaceinthecrowd,Imetpeople, a group of 200 incredible people, who helped mold me into who I am today. I recently began a new journey of educational bliss, and as nice as it is to experience this new lifestyle, I must admit, I miss the stones that tumbled through the roof of our lockers. I missthemuggysmellofthetechhall.Imissthemysteryfluids that dripped from the ceiling. Now don't get me wrong, we had wonderful janitors, and they did the best they could. But it was these things that made CCI. .. CCI. These
things were not meant to be fixed. I miss
my youth, where laughter replaced worry
and freedom replaced stress. It was the
ultimate time of self actualization, where
we took every step and every precaution
necessary to make it wherever our final
destination was. I don't know about the
rest of you, but I loved it here. I loved the
freedom, I loved the carelessness, and I
loved the people. At the same time, I
learned a lot. I learned that you don't eat
in the cafeteria unless the subway lineup
is too long, you do attend assemblies, and
a code red is not just a type of soft drink.
Although we were known as a sports
oriented school, I am proud to say that
this past year exposed the talented arts
community as well. With the achievement awards and the school's first attempted musical in years, we showed ourselves that with a little ambition, we can go a long way. Unfortunately, the Harvard reps found out a little too late. You know what... weweren'tBaysideHigh,weweren'tevenDegrassiworthy.But we were the CCI fighting owls. We were happy here. Every day these narrow hallways held some noteworthy tale. And don't try and tell me you didn't run home at 3:15 just to tell your mom about the student teacher fireball fights or the lovely announce- ments from Mr. Jones... your vice principal. Maybe this town, this school, this life, wasn't as great as I am making it out to be. I am sure some of you have already washed your hands clean of its bittersweet memories. But I assure you that one day, when you are old and grey and attending our high school reunion, you will wonder why you ever thought of leaving. We've been throughalothereinourfouryearsatCCI.Whenweoriginally entered high school we were immediately termed the 'guinea pigs', and after our parents attended countless board meeting, we all came to realize that post secondary education was going to take much more hard work than we were ready to put forth.Although I didn't mind being the government's science project, it may have been nice to take the easy route up.
in some way... We are Revolutionary. We've made an intellectual stamp in the dusty history books. We are beginning adulthood at 17 and 18 years of age. I can't even begin to imagine where we will be at 30. Retired, I hope! I must stop my speech for a moment to say thank you to the teachers here at CCI who have been extraordinary. I know personally that I have never befriended so many people over the age of 40, and enjoyed myself while doing do, even if I didn'tgetmostoftheirjokes.Thediversityofthiscrowdcreateda strong relationship between a variety of interesting people. A friendship that although distant, will be unforgettable and last a life time in everyone's own memory box. That memory box is where my years here at CCI live. The movie stud, the semi formal tickets, thepictures,thepoemfromthecuteboyingrade9..Andofcourse the dusty bottle of sparkling wine that made me promise myself I would never drink again. Life itself (4 years at least) was reduced to
a blue shoebox of junk. Junk that brings tears of joy to my eyes. I noticed that in many past valedictorian speeches, students have made use of inspirational and intellectual quotes, and I felt obliged to do so myself. Graduates, we are all diverse but what we will always have in common is our years here at CCI, and in the words of John Cougar Mellincamp. "No I cannot forget where it is that I come from I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town. And people let me be just who I want to be". Take that with you wherever you go, surround your- self with positive people, and always remem- ber your hometown, this place made you who you are today. When I left here a few months ago, I left with a smile. Yes, I'll admit, I was happy to get out. But, I was also happy with
what I left with. Maybe I didn't fully understand myself, but more importantly, I learned that self discovery is a continual process, and what really mattered was the people. We need tothinkforaminute. Why did we come here? Why did we stay here? I am sure it wasn't togettheOSSD,anacronymhalfofusprobablycan'tdefine.We came here to begin our lives. I know I didn't finish all that I started, but I began what I needed to begin. I learned that there is so much out there to learn. Some of us left this place knowing that we had our best friends for the rest of our lives, others walked out hand in hand with the person they loved, and those of us who were lucky enough, walked out appreciating every second of it. I'd like to dedicate this year's speech to a dear friend of ours, Jordan Jeffery Guardhouse, a friend who will always hold a secure place in the heart of every graduate, an individual who has left us with a lesson to be learned. We must live for the moment. We must embrace today.Wemustbegratefulforwhatwehavenow.Wemustnotfear the end, but rather, fear not beginning. If I can ask you to leave this gym tonight with one piece of advice, that is it. Live for the moment. High school was our rehearsal. It was our audition for reality. I would like to congratulate you all for making it through to the final production. Go the distance and always be true to yourself. Congratulations Graduates.
Ashlee McEachern
65