Valedictory Address

Yvette F. Watson

A pleasant morning Dr. Elvira Directo, our honored guest speaker,

Mo. Felecita Serra, our mother superior, Sr. Aida Davide, our Directress, Mrs.
Celeste Palado, Officer-in-Charge, faculty and staff, guests, friends and fellow
graduates. I am honored to be standing here representing the graduating class
of 2010. On behalf of the graduates, I would like to thank you for joining us on
this auspicious occasion.

Graduation is a time of reflecting on the past and looking onward to

the future. It is a time that we, as graduates, get together for one last hurrah
before moving on to bigger and better adventures. As we look back on 4
amazing years, it is easy to see that MCJCS has played an instrumental role in
helping to shape the young men and women we are today. Four years ago, we
walked in to the gates of Mary, Cause of our Joy Catholic School, fresh from
elementary, and we had no idea what to expect from high school. We thought it
was a stepping ground to the real goal, college. Friendships quickly developed
between us, especially meeting new faces from other schools. And then came
sophomore year. By then, those new friendships were stronger and no one even
remembered which elementary school you came from. We all belonged to
MCJCS. We spent third year, with fewer people, but nonetheless we worked hard
in school, played harder on the courts and worked harder in competitions. It was
in this year we began to realize each of our own potentials. We shared
challenges and victories, and most of all the memories spent in all those days of
collecting bottles for Ecology and practice for DramaFest, and so much more.
That brings us to our final year, Senior year. Everyone always told me, “senior
year goes by fast,” but I never imagined it would be this fast. One year. One last
year and what a year it has been. We finally did it. We completed 4 years of
education in high school. We finally completed grad transitions and here we are
all together for the last time. That definitely puts a lot of pressure on me.

As most of you know, I am not the most profound person in the

world. In fact, when I was trying to find inspiring quotes for this speech, I came
across many that I simply couldn’t understand. Fortunately for me, there was
one man who summed up my ideas perfectly and as a bonus, his ideas rhymed.
“You have brains 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.” Although it is pretty self-
explanatory, I think Dr. Seuss hit the nail on the head. For the past 10 years of
our lives, we have been given information and knowledge and it is now time to
put it to good use. Our teachers and administrators have equipped and prepared
us for our futures which begin as we step out of these doors for one last time.

This June, we won’t be coming together for the first day of school,
as we have done year after year after year. We won’t be excited to see our new
schedules, meet our new teachers and see everyone wear the new black shoes
that our parents said were too expensive to buy. We each chose a path and,
whether it begins tomorrow or in June, things will never be the same again. We
have made bonds between friends that will never be broken. We have made
memories that will last a lifetime. As we end one glorious chapter of our lives, a
new one begins. We have a fresh blank page ahead of us. It is up to us to grab
our pens and write our own stories. I ask you to take this opportunity to write an
unforgettable chapter filled with the fulfillment of your dreams and desires. Let
us take what we have learned and let it guide us through to our futures. Getting
a diploma today is not the end of graduation but rather the beginning of
something special. It is the beginning of new adventures, new friendships and,
most importantly, more parties.

I would like to say a special thank you to the hardworking faculty at

MCJCS. There is no other faculty that knows almost everyone by name. And not
just because of the several dozen late and absence slips we have accumulated
over the years. They have been influential in helping us get to this day. Thank
you. It takes a truly special person to be a teacher. They have helped me, as
well as my fellow graduates, to get to this day. They have been an integral part
of learning inside the classroom as well as outside of it. In the end, it’s not about
quizzes or test marks. It’s about what you have gained as a person that truly
matters. I think that the teachers here have tried their best to teach us this
valuable lesson and, for that, I would like to thank them.

This commencement ceremony can be as difficult for our parents as

it is for us, the graduates. This is a day that is eagerly anticipated yet one that
brings at least a few tears. After today, they will no longer be parents of children
but rather parents of young men and women who will be sent, well prepared,
into the real world. Their jobs as caretakers are relatively over and it is time for
them to step aside and let our true colors shine through. I have been so blessed
to have a family who helped me in every way possible to get to this day, who
have never stopped giving their love and inspiring me to make my dreams come
true. I would like to take this time to thank everyone, big and small, who has
helped each and every one of us to get here. Whether it is a parent, a
grandparent, a guardian, an aunt, an uncle, a neighbor or just someone special,
you have inspired and made it possible for us to get here. A generous thank you
is well deserved.

Oscar Wilde wrote, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to

remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught.” The
first time I read this I completely agreed. Never, in my entire life, will I need to
know how to find the inverse of functions given a set of ordered pairs.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that is what Oscar Wilde intended. I believe he was
referring to something else. There is something, much stronger and more
valuable, than any formula we could ever have learned in Chemistry. It is a
special type of bond. It is not ionic but it is just as powerful. The gift of friendship
is something that can never be taught. It is something that is experienced. I
have been so fortunate in experiencing this gift with some of the most amazing
people in the world. We have laughed together. We have cried together. We
have laughed so hard we were practically crying together. My friends have been
there for me when I have needed them the most and I for them. We are all very
diverse and distinct in our beliefs and ideas but when you put us all together,
something amazing happens. It takes important events to realize that we won’t
have a second chance to do this next year. We need to seize our opportunities
today. I believe that this is something we have all done extraordinarily well.

A truly inspirational teacher once told me not to be the person that

others expect me to be but rather be the person that I want to be. I cannot think
of anything better to ask of my fellow graduates than this. I hope you all live
your lives to your hearts’ content and that you take the path in life that leads
you to the most happiness because, in the end, that’s all that matters. For our
futures, I hope that our worries stay small and that all our dreams reach the
stars because the sky’s the limit. I probably took much of your time.
Congratulations grads of 2010! I love you RUSHERS.