My Graduation Speech For The Class Of 2021

As you stand here today you feel the pressure of the last twelve or thirteen years of school coming off your shoulders like a backpack full of lead. You feel alive and you feel free. Here’s what you don’t want to hear:

It’s go time.

Life will not wait around for you and it will pass you by in a blink of an eye. My uncle once told me, “you wake up one day and you’re old” and it’s one of the truest statements I’ve ever heard.

Your school years were just the booster on the rocket. It’s now time for you to decide a trajectory and it’s absolutely, positively crucial that you build on the momentum that you have. You’ve probably heard that “time is money”. That saying is actually incorrect. It should be “time is wealth”. Money comes and goes, but real wealth will carry you very far through life.

You have built habits for learning and work habits that got you a piece of paper saying you graduated and it’s just a piece of paper unless you apply it towards something. That paper is your ticket to more school, a job, and a chance at a successful, meaningful life.

Throughout all of this, you must remember that time is your most precious resource. You cannot buy more time. You must embrace every moment you have and guard against those who would waste your time.

Yes, you will have work time and school time, but what about free time? You’ll have free time and it’s important you don’t waste it. Free time is for adventure, improving yourself, and helping others. This is how you build a life of meaning and consequence.

You just thought you were getting a break, but now it’s go time. You are being set free to chart your own course. You can shoot straight to the stars or fizzle and land in the weeds, but it’s go time. The countdown is on because the power has shifted from the teachers to you. Every single morning when you wake up, tell yourself it’s go time and there will be no stopping you.

Note: I would like to give Henry Rollins credit for the concept of "go time" as used here and Ryan Holiday from "The Daily Stoic" about the theme of how precious your time is.

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