'Let your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles'
KINSEY GRESHAM RHS high ranking student

KINSEY GRESHAM

Well guys, we did it. Welcome to graduation. Now that I officially have the floor, good evening graduates. It just so happens Mr. Scallon does not have music for me to say my speech by. I want you all to know that the past 13 years of my life have been a time I will never forget. No matter where I go, each and every one of you have made such a profound impact on my life, you will not be forgotten. I sometimes think about what our senior shirts say, "I just spent 113,880 hours of my life to receive a piece of paper and a handshake," but to me these hours mean much more. It has been a time of learning, growing, and sharing with each of you. We have had good and bad times together, but no matter what, we always seemed to get through it.

When we were younger, I was probably one of the most misbehaved students in our class; but look at me now. Most of you probably call me a "goody-good." I am not ashamed of what I have developed into so far, and I know that there is much more change ahead of you and me. While going through this transformation, there are certain aspects of life we will need to give special attention. First of all, Rusk is a wonderful place, and I am so thankful for everything that this town has meant to me. There are great friends, community members, and schools here, but I do encourage you all to get out and see the world. I want us to see things we've never seen, go to the places on TV. Be adventurers. Another part of life that we need to focus on is our goals. I believe we should set our standards high, be determined, and the best we can be, whether we go to college or straight into the work force. We will be faced with many tough choices. Remember to be wise and think about the consequences of our actions. There will be obstacles that will take a toll on our lives, but don't let them get in your way of succeeding. Never give up. I also want to encourage each of you to have a self examination of your spiritual life. It has been a goal of mine to exemplify a Christian attitude in all that I do, and I want to persuade you all to do the same. When times get rough and you feel that there is no one there for you; know that you can always turn to God.

Now that all of the serious business has been covered, I would like to reflect on some of the good times we had together. Do you remember how disappointed we were the year after we left primary-they got that super cool playground? However; the elementary playground will always be my favorite. I can remember all the girls used to do was tumble down that big hill. Kortnie Galan even tumbled with her broken wrist in a cast; she was doing one-handed back handsprings. Neat huh?

Teenagers are notorious for their slang. When we get older we'll look back and laugh at some of the phrases like: "fresh as our return baby," "chunk up the deuce," "what it do?," "chea," "footloose," "you know," "peace up, A-town down," "who? Brent Jones" "what's up big cuh?," "straight milkin' baby," and my favorite "you make me wanna leave the one I'm with."

Schools out, memories past, don't ever doubt, our friendships will last. I really do love all you guys. I will leave you with this quote from an unknown author, "I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.

Cherokeean Herald editors edited speech for space constraints.