I may not have graduated from secondary school to university before, but I certainly have a taste of the feeling. It is leaving childhood, leaving teenage and moving into young adulthood. Wow! At this time, many schools have already held their graduation ceremonies, and some schools are yet to hold theirs. All the same, I wish all who are graduating this year a happy graduation!
I’m being very particular about those leaving secondary school because I believe that’s the pinnacle of all graduations in a child’s life. I can remember the air of the day on the graduation ceremony of one of our SS3’s. Skeleton Move by featuring Master KG was played that day, and the lyrics stood out to everyone:
No matter where you go, remember the road that will lead you home… that will lead you home.
No matter where you’ll go from the threshold of teenage, remember who you are, remember what you’ve been promising yourself that you will make out of your life for as long as you can remember, remember the friends worth keeping – those who have had a hand in shaping you into the person you are today – remember your values and principles, remember the road that will lead you home – the place where you can always find warmth, inspiration and comfort.
‘Home’ might be different things for different people; it might just be the place where your family is, it might mean the place where you can be with those who make up the best part of you, it might mean a place you know you can always feel refreshed when you visit it, or might be the place, the moments when you connect and talk with God one-on-one.
“Home is where your heart is,” as the saying goes.
Underneath all the hysteria, joy and exuberance of this time in the life of a person FINALLY leaving secondary school, there is still that feeling of sadness at leaving, and a longing for a replay of those times when you were just a care-free child. Those in this category know how true this is.
As a person who holds wise sayings in high regard, I leave you with these sayings I picked up from here and there. I hope that they give you the strength you need to begin the new responsibilities that will soon begin to be laid on you, the inspiration to always be and never be ashamed of who you are or to change to be a better person if need be, and the reminder you need to “…never forget what is [or those that are] worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten.”
“There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.”
—Rihanna
“You can’t do it alone. Be open to collaboration. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.”
— Amy Poehler
Remember this: You are awesome. I’m not suggesting you be boastful. No one likes that in men or women. But I am suggesting that believing in yourself is the first necessary step to coming even close to achieving your potential.”
—Sheryl Sandberg
“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”
—Taylor Swift
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
—Babe Ruth
“I’ve learned it’s important not to limit yourself. You can do whatever you really love to do, no matter what it is.”
—Ryan Gosling
“It is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.”
—George Burns
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
—E. E. Cummings
“A WOMAN WITH A VOICE IS, BY DEFINITION, A STRONG WOMAN.”
– MELINDA GATES
“The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be alone with the sky, nature, and God. For only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity.”
—Anne Frank
“Take your risks now. As you grow older, you become more fearful and less flexible … Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don’t know about. Limit your ‘always’ and your ‘nevers.’ Continue to share your heart with people even if it’s been broken.”
—Amy Poehler
“There are no regrets in life — just lessons.”
—Jennifer Aniston
“The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away.”
—Joy J. Golliver
“I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.”
—Emma Stone
“It’s the choice. You have to wake up every day and say ‘There’s no reason today can’t be the best day of my life.'”
—Blake Lively
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
—Dr. Seuss
“You will stumble and fall, you will experience both disaster and triumph, sometimes in the same day. But it’s really important to remember that like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever.”
—Helen Mirren
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”
—J.K. Rowling
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
—Arthur Ashe
“It is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. I know that sounds completely nuts. But, since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition. There are so few people this crazy that I feel like I know them all by first name. They all travel as if they are pack dogs and stick to each other like glue. The best people want to work the big challenges.”
—Larry Page
“You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.”
—Arnold Schwarzenegger
“In response to those who say to stop dreaming and face reality, I say keep dreaming and make reality.”
—Kristian Kan
“If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.”
—Ben Hogan
“When someone who loves you hugs you, hug them back with two arms—don’t do the one-arm hug, because when you hug someone with two arms, it allows you to lean on somebody, and we all need someone to lean on.”
— Sandra Bullock
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
—Thomas Edison
“As you graduate, as you deal with your excitement and your doubts today, I urge you to try and create the world you want to live in. Minister to the world in a way that can change it. Minister radically in a real, active, practical, get your hands dirty way.”
—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.”
—Shonda Rhimes
“You don’t go to university so you can punch a clock. You go to university so you can be in a position to make a difference.”
—Janet Napolitano
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
—Robin Williams
“I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that’s okay.”
—Conan O’Brien
“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
—Mother Teresa
“The road to success is always under construction.”
—Lily Tomlin
“You are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say ‘yes.’ And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say ‘yes’ back.”
—Stephen Colbert
“Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.”
—Neil Gaiman
Happy graduation, from me to you.
😘
Although it’s kind of post-dated, check out another of my blog posts on graduation:
6 Tips on How to Make the Last Days of Secondary School Unforgettable.
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(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MY OLD BLOG)
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