Today is the beginning of a new chapter. You have just fulfilled the introduction for the story of your life and now you are about to get to the climax where you will be faced with a lot of decision-making, soul-searching, and heart-breaking. As you walk up here tonight and receive your long-awaited high school diploma you will feel a mixture of emotions you have never felt before. Happy to finally have the moment you thought would never happen, nostalgic because you can’t help but think of those crazy homecoming moments, scared that in college you won’t find anyone who is like your best friends now, and sad that you will be leaving the comforts of home and aren’t quite sure if you can do it alone. You’re growing up. Sounds scarier than it is, but it’s in fact true. Dorothy Thompson once said, "Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a boogeyman around turn on the lights." Okay so you want be faced with the Boogey man you feared when you were 6, but new fears will stare you straight in the face. And of course when faced with the unknown most of us prefer to turn around and go back but it’s only when you’re tested that you truly discover who you are, and it is only you are tested that you truly can be who you want to be, and after today is your test. Test the waters to unknown territory, test people, and most of all test yourself; trust me it’s not on a scan tron sheet and there is not an answer key, in this case you get to make your own. Sometimes the complicated questions have the simplest answers. Everything you have been accustomed to is about to change; your daily routines, your classmates, and your teachers. Don’t let your comfort zone hold you back, expand it and yes you’re going to feel anxious & nervous, everyone does. Change is something that we as people want the most, but fear the most at the same time. But instead, embrace it and dream.  Tonight you are all sharing the same dream; the dream to find success, happiness, and love. Some of you may feel worried that you have no idea what you want to do with your life? Below the surface we are all raw and exposed but don’t worry. Its common and truth is: you really don’t have to know quite yet. Why not just live today? Don’t worry about who you are gonna be when you’re twenty-five, what matters is who you are right now. Live this moment, Breath this moment, and Cherish this moment because there will never be another. Chances are your dreams now, will not be your dreams in the future, but always chase them, even if they change daily. I can vow for that statement. I remember in kindergarten my dream was to be a professional bank teller, in middle school I wanted to work at Sea World, at my graduation day I wanted to be a high-rolling business executive in the business district of Manhattan...today, I still want to be a successful business woman in Manhattan, but my most important dream is to be happy. So maybe you won’t make millions of dollars a year or be a famous athlete on the cover of Sports Illustrated but maybe you will be the happiest you have been your entire life? Henry James once said, “Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create that fact.” At this very moment the possibilities are endless. Let life be good to you. Learn from the the heart-aches and grow closer with passion.  Aspire for success and Dream for love. Pray for luck and most of all remember life’s what you make it. Right now that single pathway you’ve been following your whole life is about to branch off in many different directions, and sometimes you may be forced to clear your own path. The best advice I have for you was given by Dr. Seuss. He stated, “You have a brain in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.” Believe in the beauty of your dreams, they will guide you. Now this all seems like you are alone in this journey, but that is nowhere near what is true. Although these people you see all around might slowly turn into faces in a crowd you will always have the love and support of your family or those who you like to refer to as your family. Don’t feel alone.  Tonight there are 750 of you facing the same challenge in life and scared to flip the next page to see what is going to happen. You’re vulnerable but believe that everything happens for a reason.  Believe that if you get a chance to do something that you should take it, and if it changes your life, let it.  Speak up for what you believe, stand your ground even if your voice shakes. You might not always make the best decisions but good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. Sometimes the road you wanted to take will be closed and you’re going to have to take the slightly rougher detour; it may take longer, but you’ll get there. Push yourself and let gravity be the only force that is holding you down.  As I make this next statement it may seem like I am preaching the obvious, but the most important thing in achieving your dream is to make sure the dream is actually yours. It is always great to get advice from loved ones or elders but make sure to not follow the goals someone else has set for you.  Make sure you also take on risks. This may seem like I am telling you to play in traffic, but your life will pass you by so fast and many influential individuals have told me they do not regret the risks they have taken and failed, but they wished they would have taken more.  So go out there, taste the rainbow. You have to stop judging your life and actually go out there and live it. There is no scoreboard for life, there is no winning or losing, but sometimes you will be on the offense and sometimes you will be on the defense. Life’s not a game but be a good sport about it. Don’t take it too seriously. Graduation is not the end; it is the beginning. Walk with confidence.  Use a thesaurus to sound a little bit more intelligent, everybody does it.  Free away from guilt, and indulge a little. For you future college students that last statement does not include partying till you need your stomach pumped, but it does mean you must experience at least one power hour. If you don’t know what that is, you will quickly learn in the fall. And you will quickly learn that you are a lot stronger than you thought you were, ramean noodles & easy mac are home-made meals, and studying for a test doesn’t start till the night before.  So now you are probably waiting for me to finish this speech so you can receive the almighty high school diploma and switch your tassel to the other side of your cap to make it just a little more official and follow tradition…you know, like the diploma isn’t enough…. So I leave you now with this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Take this quote how you want, but live by this, and remember you are the writer of your own story, don’t worry about typos because even in life you have  the backspace key, its called forgiveness, and remember you make the final decision of what you do in life, its called dignity. Congratulations class of 2008, and Best wishes.