Best 2024 Graduation Speech, by Iván Cruz: "Be happy without hurting anyone"

 

This year's best graduation speech is by 4 ESO A student Iván Cruz Fragueiro, who has not only written a brilliant commencement address, but he has delivered it in style and grace, with excellent pronunciation, intonation and stance, and with remarkable composure, serenity and good spirit. Congratulations!

As usual, this student was the chosen one to speak on behalf of their 4 ESO classmates at the graduation ceremony on Friday 21st June.

 

BE HAPPY WITHOUT HURTING ANYONE

 

Good afternoon, parents, classmates and teachers. Thank you for being here.

Today is a very special day for me and my classmates, so I will try to treat it like that, even being as nervous as I am about speaking in front of you all. Sorry for my possible babbling, by the way.

 

First, I would like to ask you something: have you ever felt scared? Not scared of a horror movie, but scared of the future, of the changes... Well, I have felt that way, and I am sure that most of you also have. So, what do you think if we try to fight that fear? When we were kids, we played to be adults. We wanted to grow up fast because we thought that adult life would be incredible, but now that we have grown, we are worried about the future. I am not one to give you advice, but I have seen that there is something that some of us curiously ignore: the present, and to understand the present, we need to remember the past first.

I hardly remember my first day at school, but I remember my first friends, my first teachers, my best and worst moments... All of these moments have something in common, the people you share them with. Because even in the worst moment and even if you are someone introvert, reserved, or shy like me, I can promise you  that you will find somebody determined to help you, someone who tells you to go ahead because if things get tough, he or she will be with you. I am lucky to have a mentor like that: she is my mother because I couldn't have got where I am without her, so thank you, mum.

 

I would also like to thank some people for their support, their trust and their help. Thank you, Santi, for telling me what homework we had when I didn't have it written down; thank you, Diego, for all those times you made me laugh; thank you, Raúl, for your support in my bad moments; thank you, Paula, for being the best teacher; thank you, Pilar, for your History classes; thank you, Raquel and Álvaro, for trusting and believing in me; and thanks to all the teachers, classmates and everybody who, although I don’t have time to mention, I want you all to know that nothing of this would be possible without you.

 

And now, leaving this aside. I supposedly have to talk about the future, but do you remember what I said at the beginning of the speech? We have to live in the present without forgetting the future, because now that we remember the past, we know that in future troubles someone will be there to help us, and if there is no one, there will certainly be.

 

Also remember that you are your best partner, so don’t stay with people you don’t want to be with only for fear of being alone, and if you make a mistake, you can always try again, because even if it doesn’t turn out well, it’s worth trying.

 

After saying that, I have wishes and one more piece of advice: I wish you a happy and safe end-of-school trip, I wish you the best future you can imagine, I wish you a good summer... be happy without hurting anyone, that is my advice.

 

And finally, after this dense speech, I hope you enjoy the snacks and drinks served on the school yard.

 

Thank you so much for your attention.

 

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