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Graduation Speech by Jason Yue（Summary)

June 8, 2017

Graduation Speech by Jason Yue（Summary)

Time works in unfathomable ways. It took time less than the blink of an eye to take all of us here. Our graduation ceremony. From here we depart and leave for the ends of the earth. The daily routines we take for granted: waking up to catch the bus, or miss the bus, arriving at school to get some last minute work done, or chat up with the friend next to your seat… These will no longer be routines but merely objects of our past. Phantoms. Memories, till it all fades.

I once had a conversation with a friend where I expressed how it is a ridiculous idea to consider your friends the most important aspect of your life. I said to her, “Friends are only temporary companions that joined paths by chance. None of it lasts, and expecting it to is being childish. Moving on is the norm, while stagnancy is stupidity.” I even added, “I doubt I will shed tears on graduation day because I find it annoying to dramatize things and become overly emotional”.

I realize now that I was not seeing the whole picture. Indeed, we do not live in the past but are constantly moving towards the future. It sure makes sense to encourage someone by saying, “look forward, and do not linger in the past”. But life is meaningless if we do not allow for moments of reflection when we examine how far we’ve come. Because if all that we do is marching forward, the only certainty we know about life is that it ends necessarily in death. Hence, it is not the destination, but the journey, which gives life meaning.

So I invite all of you to join me and reflect upon the past which we shared together on this campus. Most of us have been here for more than two years, and many of us were here since primary school. I’ve witnessed growth from brazen, shameless youths to sophisticated, responsible adults. I've witnessed friendships develop from desk-mates to soulmates. I’ve witnessed cluelessness and ignorance change into the expertise of professional researchers. I’ve heard of clumsiness and shyness turn into the skillfulness and resilience of professional athletes. And of course, there are the couples who overcame embarrassment and pledged their lives to companionship and love.

And so we realize that graduation is more than a long holiday and a departure. It is also a season of gratitude. Whose contribution do you see in the growth and maturation you have experienced? Parents, teachers, friends. Too often do we bathe ourselves in our own achievements and ignore those who have helped us along our ways. In difficult times, has anyone patted on your shoulders? Lent you their ears? Their time? Whose words of encouragement have brightened your days? Whose embrace helped you stand back up? Whose warning pulled you away from the abyss? Think about how these people made you into who you are. And tell them. Express your thanks. Let them know that you have not forgotten.

Yet, ultimately, memories fade. But before they do I would like to encourage all of you with the reminder of what we will always carry with us: our identities, in which SHSID has ingrained itself. We may forget the events that occurred in these halls, but we will never forget the modes of thinking and the qualities we acquired. Equip yourself with humility, diligence, perseverance, empathy, and also confidence. Keep yourself away from arrogance, recklessness, fickleness, selfishness, and the like. In the lifelong struggle to construct my own identity I am glad, indeed, to have spent my high school years here.

May luck be with you all. Thank you.