The Beginning of the End
There are many of us, students, parents, and teachers alike, that have eagerly
awaited this day, while others may even have dreaded its arrival. In any case, I am
certain that all of us have memories aplenty to gild the wonderful years that have
passed. It is easy to lose oneself in such reflection and forget that everyone’s hard
(or not so hard) work has merely brought us to the End of the Beginning.
Now, we must look forward, toward the new challenges that await us, and
anticipate some profound changes to our accustomed lifestyle. Today is the first
day of the rest of our lives and now, more importantly than ever, we must realise
that for what lies ahead, the one person we should always be able to depend on is
onesself.
As of today, we must stand on our own feet and adopt the global responsibility
that we all share. We might walk away today with a handsome diploma in our
hands, but let that be but a milestone leading to ever greater achievement.
Our everchanging world is in constant need for bright new minds with fresh
ideas, minds suited for the truly global world our Earth has become. Minds like
ours, whose creativity may allow us to fulfill personal dreams as well as the
dreams of a humanity unified for peace and prosperity.
Not all of us will be able to continue with out lives here in Hanoi, but wherever we
may go, we will all take with us the experience and memories of more than a
dozen years, and through our actions, prove that they have been worth their while.
I hope that beyond the compartmentalised studies we have partaken in over our
years at UNIS, we have learned enough to enable us to establish a life’s philosophy
of our own, a philosophy worthy of the immense effort put into bringing us to the
beginning of the rest of our lives.
We are heading into a world of infinite incredible opportunities and it is our
obligation to grasp, and make the most of them. We face a world of choices and our time at UNIS has given us the tools to make the best choices. Once again, I
must thank all teachers, staff, and family for making it possible for us to stand here
today, but I must also thank my classmates, with whom I shared all the little joys
and grieves of my school years, and without whom, none of us would stand here
either.
We are the class of 2007 and it is time we start giving back to the world.
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