Here is our Granddaughter's speech, which she wasn't allowed to give.   The School Superintendent and her principal told her she had to change it, or she couldn't give it.   They did not even have the courtesy to call and talk with her in person, but chose to e-mail her with their decision.   She said she couldn't, and they would not let her give her speech.  They said it was too sad, yet the Valedictorian talked about 911. 

They skipped her, went to valedictorian, then to class president, class vice president, class secretary, class treasurer, and a few other grads who held positions in the class.

Our granddaughter held a 4.063 average all during her 4 years of  high school.  She held the second highest GPA in her class of over 200+ seniors, and was denied the privilege of saying goodbye to classmates and staff, and reminiscence over the years they spent together.  She chose to not change it to get recognition for herself, instead she wanted to give due honor to God for all her academic accomplishments, and even for her being.  I was so proud of  her that she was Salutatorian, but oh, so much more proud of her for holding God above herself in this one chance she had to receive honor for being such a good student!  The devil did not win this battle, God was gloried!

It’s an honor to be salutatorian for the class of 2008.  Not quite as much of an honor s it would have been to be valedictorian.  Thanks a million Jeremy.  You just had to go and show me up, didn’t you?  Don’t worry Jeremy, there aren’t any grudges.  If there were any revenge to be gotten I got it all taken care of back in 7th grade at our lunch table.  We used to put stuff like cupcakes and catsup in his chair everyday.  Jeremy never learned – he fell for it every time and sat in it whatever we had booby-trapped his seat with.  Apparently Jeremy has grown a lot smarter and wiser since  7th grade.  I was smart enough not to sit in Marcus’ hot sauce puddle and look where  that got me: second place.  How Jeremy overrode me, I’ll never know.

Jeremy, you’re a remarkable guy.  I wish you the best of luck over at OSU. I know  you’re going to excel in your medical pursuits.  Like I said, no grudges. In fact, and I even told Ms. Stewart our guidance counselor this, but I was trying to root for 3rd  place so I didn’t have to even give a speech.  I told her I was determined to slack off a little bit the last quarter so as to save myself the trouble.  I obviously didn’t try hard enough –daggone it, I still got second.

So anyways, whether I like it or not, I have to give a speech and I tried to compile all the aspects of a good graduation speech into this.  Here are the 3 things I’ve decided that every graduation speech must include:

1.  You have to blubber and carry on about how much you’re going to miss everyone.  But you know, taking a good look around at this sorry bunch of kids, I don’t think I can muster up enough crocodile tears.  But really, just kidding guys, I’ll miss you.  It’s so odd and heartbreaking to leave people you’ve known for 13 years.

2.  You have to reminisce.  Going back to the dark recesses of my mind, the earliest memory I have of kindergarten is of Zach puking his guts out during story time in Ms. Tuller’s class.  I think it was right after we got to the part in the book where Sam I am asked would you could you eat green eggs and ham on a train.  Then before you knew it, Zach’s face matched the same shade as the ham and then...well, I’ll spare you the details.

3.  You have to admit something you did in high school.  Two years ago, my friend Wesley was salutatorian and in his speech he sarcastically admitted to cheating on all his work and tests.  I figured I’d hold off on making that same confession, especially since at least when he said it, he was kidding.  Honestly, though, I can assure everyone that I haven’t done any cheating.  You guys can’t revoke my diploma can you?  If there’s anything that I’ve got to get off my chest it’s this: Many of you know me as a vegetarian and I’ll just get this out there right now.  When I was a junior I ate two whole bags of beef jerky.

I do want to put in a bit of advice into this speech.  In order to do that, I have to share a bit of my own experience.  I struggled with frequent depression all throughout this school year.  I can’t describe to you how hopeless and helpless I have felt and then remembered that I have every help and hope there is to offer is accredited to me because I have God; because I have Christ.

We’re all going to go through our own brand of depression in life for different reasons.  Not everything is going to go our way.  Sometimes Dairy Queen won’t put as many sprinkles on your ice cream cone as you would have liked them to.  Sometimes, to your chagrin, you’ll waltz out of a public restroom with a piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe.  Or maybe, like today, you’ll be torn because the people that matter most to you are walking out of your life.

In the midst of all of this, God has been my reason for not giving up. He's the only reason I'm going to heaven and the only reason I'm sane and alive. He leaves you amazed.  He has a sense of humor.  And just because He despises the sin we create, doesn't mean He doesn't love us.  That’s why He sent us Christ – to save us from an eternal death that I deserve and we all deserve.  I thank God for that. I don’t want any of you to ever give up even if life has a bad habit of sucking.

Try to look at the bright side of things.  If you don’t get all of those sprinkles, keep in mind that less sprinkles on your ice cream cone means less calories.  If all else fails, call the Dairy Queen manager and make a big fuss and nag until you get free coupons.

Thank you class of ’08.  Thank you to all the parents, faculty and staff. Good luck!