Page 16 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 Caps Off to the Class of 2024 Revere High School and CityLab Innovation High School graduation exercises Allen Hou, Class President ney. As I stand here now, I ask the question “Why?” Why do we want our lives to pass by so fast? Why move on in a matter of seconds instead of indulging in every precious moment in life? Why do we not value moments that will only happen once? Looking back, we all had experiences that we never realized were temporary. Think back to… the last time we played freeze tag at G ood evening fellow graduates, proud families, honored friends and school faculty. Tonight, we join together to celebrate the accomplishments of our class of 2024. I would like to personally thank my grandparents, mom, family, friends, and coaches. Words cannot express my gratitude and I couldn’t have asked for a better support group. I thank you all for being such a great part of my journey. Today we are fi lled with a mix of emotions — bittersweet sentiment, excitement, and even fear about what the future holds. But let us remember the experiences that shaped us, and the lessons we will carry forward. I have had the honor of being your class president for our freshman, junior and senior years. Thank you all for trusting me. I am grateful for the opportunity and couldn’t have wished for a more supportive and committed class. High school has been a journey for us all. My journey began with my passion for running. I always tried to make my life like the 100-meter dash. Being the fi rst to the fi nish line was at the forefront of my mind. It was my number 1 goal. Yet, our race hasn’t reached the end; though we rush to get to the fi nish line of life, not taking time to enjoy the jourrecess, the last time we would be staying up with our neighborhood friends, the last time we got excited about shimmery stickers on our tests. All these little moments we might not distinctly remember, blurred by passing up life’s greatest joys to fi nd ourselves here now. These were some of the many experiences that bring us to the fi nish line. Just four short years ago, our high school race began. we ran into the world so carelessly and free only to face hurdles, one after another, changing the trajectory of our youth. With the world in a global crisis and middle schools shut down, we were tossed into the unknown world of high school through Zoom calls and broken Chromebooks. More unknowns followed: adapting to changing schedules and seeing hundreds of unfamiliar faces. Now we will enter a world full of unknown hurdles again. Uncertainty will always be before us. I know with certainty that WE are capable of handling those challenges. You should be proud of yourselves as you stand here today after all the struggle, sweat, and tears. This moment is yours. No one can take this moment away from you. So leaving here today, I want you all to remember life is not about fi nishing the race, but enjoying the moments. In the end, we all make it to our fi nish lines. Thank you, everyone, and congratulations to my fellow graduates! Melih Yilmaz, Valedictorian to improve my English and did my best to understand the foreign culture. Gradually, I started feeling confi dent in myself and my abilities. I formed my new normal by adjusting to the unfamiliar. By the end of the year, for the fi rst time since moving to America, I felt excited about what my future held. To many of you, my story is a familiar G ood evening, esteemed faculty, family, friends, and, most importantly, my fellow graduates of the Class of 2024. We are all gathered here tonight to acknowledge the proud accomplishments of our honorable graduates these past four years. This moment is not only a testament to all of our persistent eff orts and dedication, but the unwavering support and encouragement from all that have supported us. For this reason, I am honored to be recognized as the Valedictorian of the Class of 2024. As I stand here today, I am reminded of my own journey that began when I immigrated to the United States from Turkey at the age of ten. Arriving in a new country, I was fi lled with feelings of uncertainty and anticipation. Having limited English, it was diffi cult for me to feel a sense of belonging within the community. Not being able to communicate with my classmates and teachers felt isolating. Moving to a whole new country had changed everything I’d taken for granted about my life. What was before predictable, ordinary details-- buildings I’d walk past, the faces I saw on the street, the voices I’d hear-- had now become unknowns. This unfamiliarity left me anxious. Faced with all of these challenges, I had no choice but to adapt. I continued one. A majority of Revere High School is made up of fi rst- or second-generation immigrants, many of you can relate fi rsthand to the struggles I’ve faced. We’ve all faced adversity head on and adapted to unfamiliar circumstances to become more resilient. However diffi cult to overcome, these challenges have given us the necessary skills to successfully navigate our futures. It’s at this moment, I would like to thank those who have helped me. Thank you, to annem and babam, for helping provide my siblings and I with the best opportunities possible. You’ve made so many sacrifi ces so that I could get to where I am today, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Thank you to my amazing siblings Ebrar and Tarik, you’ve always been there to give me help and support me in any situation. Thank you to all of my teachers for pushing supporting your students. Thank you to Coach O’hara, for always making sure our team can compete with the best, and for teaching me valuable lessons not just about volleyball, but about life as a whole and my teammates for making me feel like I’m truly part of a family. And fi nally, thank you to all of my friends for your unwavering support throughout high school, and for the endless memories we’ve made together. I’m so proud of the courage and resilience that we’ve all demonstrated that has brought us here tonight, and it is with that same courage and resilience that we will face the future. As our paths fi nally start to diverge, I hope that one day our paths will cross again. Congratulations, and thank you again, Class of 2024. The RHS Class of 2024 procession marches into the stadium.
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