Valedictorian Ramona Bokhout

Ramona Bokhout,
Valedictorian

Greetings, Class of 2017; we did it!

We’re finally graduating!

This is it, the day everyone has been waiting for!

All the stress, homework, studying for upcoming tests, grad preparations and school drama is finally over.

I think I speak for most of us when I say that the last three years of high school went by faster than we ever imagined they would.

Do you remember walking through the doors, the first day of high school and thinking that the following 1,021 days are going to take forever?

It feels like yesterday, doesn’t it?

All of those nights we spent cramming for the test the next morning, all of the books we read and the essays we wrote, all of the lessons we learned from not only our teachers, but our friends as well, all of the friendships we began, ended, and mended, and all of the wonderful and memorable experiences we have had throughout high school and all the other years we spent in school together, have led up to this day that we never thought would come so fast, whether we are ready or not.

This will be a memory that helps separate our school life, from our new beginning into the big world we yet to explore.

Future is a big word, not letter wise, but in the idea that the future has a different definition for everyone.

Some may stay to upgrade, some will leave to college and university, and some will to start their new dream job.

Whichever path you walk down, make sure to live life to the fullest.

Do the little things that make you happy; laugh, smile, but most importantly don’t be afraid to be your crazy self.

School is a journey in life.

Experiences help shape who we are as a person and help continue our journey, so make sure to treasure the good times. It’s the first and most important stepping stone to the future therefore we needed to make it count.

Going into kindergarten, we learned the alphabet and numbers, but play was the key focus of the year.

Here we learned to socialize and we all got along even if some of us weren’t there at the time.

In elementary, having the biggest and fanciest book to take home and read was always an important aspect.

We learned to read and write simple words and eventually simple phrases.

We used numbers to add and subtract and eventually challenged ourselves with multiplication and division.

Elementary and junior high was all about learning the basics and as a result, challenged ourselves with scientific evidence of how the world works.

How history continues to influence our actions as we grow up and how math plays a big role in the business world or building that nice tree house in the forest. High school taught us the tools to become successful in the real world but also strengthen ourselves to be the person we are meant to be in our own way.

During this process we made lifetime friendships, memories and experiences.

When we failed a test the world was gonna end.

At that point we needed that “kick in the butt” to continue.

And believe me, we all got that kick at some point in our lives.

The people I knew in high school are also what made it great.

The memories I have of high school are good because of the people that were there to share those moments with me.

The Toronto trip, the debates and the discussions we had as a grad class, they all wouldn’t have meant anything if we hadn’t had people to share them with. When I think about the Class of 2017, I think about the social activists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, power engineers, artists, writers, scientists and leaders of the future.

Therefore, use your passion to inspire and motivate others to make the world a better place.

The person sitting next to you is just as important as you are.

We are the Class of 2017 and we are going to change the world.

We are going to leave this world better than we found it.

Countless hours have been put in for this one day.

We notice the hours the teachers put in even if we don’t let them know.

They explain, and help expand our point of views by expressing them in new ways.

Thank you, teachers, for getting to school early, making sure you have a positive attitude for a great day of learning, and even making sure you have enough copies of the worksheets because there is always that one student who seems to need more than one.

Thank you to all the supportive family and friends here today, along with my own.

Special thanks to my parents, awesome sister Naomi, my best friend Bri, my Canadian grandparents Phyllis and Darren, my grandparents who flew from Holland to be here on this day, all the amazing staff at the vet clinic, and my sheep who help keep my stress level manageable.

With that I would also like to thank the administration for giving me this opportunity to talk here today.

None of us could have gotten here without them.

They taught us how to be better people, they made sure we got to this day, and many of them are here now to see us transition into the next part of our lives. We have all been changed by our friends and family we hold dear, and therefore we have become stronger and more caring individuals because of these amazing people in our lives.

I want to wish each and every one of you success in whatever you choose to pursue. We as a generation have so much to offer the world.

I know that we are going to do great things and I couldn’t be more excited for what is ahead of us.

Watch us grow does not end today, a new vine or flower petals will rise for everyone sitting beside me here today.

I challenge you to use this opportunity to make the world a better place in your own unique way.

It can be as simple as giving someone a reassuring smile, using your current or future occupation to help people, or lifting ones doubts with a simple conversation.

Whichever is your style use it…these small actions will cause that petal to turn into a beautiful continuous flower.

Congrats, Grad Class of 2017.
Thank you.