I didn’t attend Woodrow Wilson High School’s graduation ceremony Saturday, but our son — a junior at Woodrow next year — was there singing in the Variations choir and saying goodbye, in a high school sense, to his senior friends.

This morning, the Woodrow Wildcat Weekly newsletter popped into my email box, courtesy of PTA corresponding secretary and fellow parent Mindy Cunningham. In the newsletter, the speeches of the school’s valedictorian and salutatorian are reprinted.

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I thought you might enjoy reading what the best students at Woodrow have to say about the school, their future and our neighborhood…

Hello my name is Eric Godat and I’m the Salutatorian of the Class of 2008.

Woodrow Wilson High School is different from any other school.  Some would say it is because Woodrow has HEART, other might say it is the landmark status of the building, still others might mention two Heismans. Sure all of those make Woodrow unique but what makes Woodrow really special is the opportunity it gives its students for greatness.  Look at our top ten: a future engineer, a soccer star, an actress, a future doctor, an artist, our class politician, a journalist, a computer whiz, an ace pitcher, and a photographer with a flair for French. 

Whether in sports, theater, academia, or something completely different, Woodrow allows anyone to be great. Over these last four years the greatness in each of us has grown as we have grown. Now we must leave the sheltering halls, protective parents and administrators and find our own way. We all have heard of Woodrow’s Tradition of Excellence. Today we add to that tradition.

Class of 2008, Good luck in your continued growth. Thank You.

Valedictorian Speech: Rachel Kittrell

Class of 2008. Parents. Teachers. Other guests. Before I begin, I’d like to slip in a small disclaimer. Standing up here in front of you all, I’m absolutely petrified. So if I seem a bit incoherent, just bear with me. After all, I’d like to think that it’s easier having to sit down there and listen to this than it is having to stand up here and recite it.

Anyway, here it goes:  Hi, I’m Rachel Kittrell, the Valedictorian of the class of 2008. I know I’m supposed to start off with a profound quote and then go on to share a bunch of our favorite memories and dreams for the future… but I just don’t agree with the tone that would set. People spend too much time as it is looking back at the past or peering forward with longing into the future. On such an auspicious day as this, it just doesn’t seem right focusing on anything but this very moment. Look at where we are, and what this signifies. In a short while, each and every one of us will get to walk across this stage and receive a tangible recognition of our success. It’s something we need to savor, keeping our thoughts anchored to this instant instead of casting them forward to start dreaming about the next big thing.

However, after saying this, I’m now left with something of a problem: what to focus on in my speech. I’ve already defined and decided against saying the staple of any valedictory speech… so what does that leave me to share with you all? After a bit more thinking, I decided instead to share with you something I learned this year, since I feel that, cliché as it is, this is something most people—including myself—would do well to remember: More and more as we progress into the future, people don’t live enough in the present, or appreciate the small things life in the present brings. You may roll your eyes, but it’s true. We spend too much time kicking ourselves for past mistakes, reminiscing, wishing things could be like they were however long a time ago… or, as is more common, we do the opposite. We gaze ahead: hours, weeks, months, years, wishing away precious time, when it’s the most valuable thing we have.

After I thought about it for a while, I realized that this idea might have been the singularly most important thing that I’d taken away from my senior year, thanks to a combination of some trying personal experiences and my 4th period economics class… not that economics wasn’t trying in its own way, as I’m sure many of you will agree. Time is one of the most precious things we have. I can’t stress that enough. Mr. Patton said it every day, and though he was emphasizing its practical value more than any philosophical notions, I really feel there is no more valuable lesson he could have taught us. Time is valuable. And time, as they say, flies.

That being the case, the question I pose is this: why do we wish it away so fast? Throughout the year, we as a class were avidly looking forward to today. The further the year progressed, the more we became fixated on it, even counting down the days. We wanted to skip everything and jump right past a year’s worth of memories because all we could do was stare at the finish line up ahead. It’s not that today’s not important—because it really is—it’s just that we were treating this year like today was the only day that mattered. And it seems to me that that’s kind of what people always do. We ignore all of the little moments that make up the majority of life because we’re so focused on one small instant that the big picture ends up fading into the background even as we’re experiencing it. Life, contrary to both the board game and, consequently, popular belief, isn’t just the major milestones we think of when we hear the word. The board game kind of cuts out a lot. Life is in the little things, the day-to-day things, like the way you want to kill your alarm clock every morning, or the slight feeling of happiness you get when your favorite song comes on the radio. It’s those little things that fill in the gaps between the milestones and make up the majority of our lives, though, unfortunately, we tend to ignore them and take them for granted, even going as far as to just wish we could bypass them entirely.

Now, I’m not saying that it’s bad to dream or reminisce. Nor am I saying that life’s milestones—such as today—aren’t things to be celebrated. All I’m trying to convey is that life is so much more than that, crammed into a ridiculously short period of time, and there’s no sense in trying to rush along something that is already speeding by anyway. Life is too precious and too short to wish it away like that.

That being said, I’d like to thank a few people before taking my seat. First and foremost, I’d like to dedicate this speech to my grandfather, who was unable to make it today. He’s been a father to me my whole life, and I’m so thankful to have been granted more time with him. I would also like to give a brief thanks to my mom. I just want you to know that just like you’re proud to see me up here, I’m proud to have you in the audience today. It means you were a fighter, and that you never let the cancer beat you. Thanks, too, to the rest of my family, and to all of the families of the class of ‘08. You all helped make today happen. Thanks to all of our present and former teachers for helping to prod our minds into something acceptable. Finally, though, thanks to the class of 2008 for being an awesome group of people to graduate with. I didn’t get to know a lot of you as well as I would have liked, and I’m sorry for that. Still, this is a time for celebrating, and I think we need to give ourselves a round of applause for completing high school with most of our sanity intact.