Raymond Sun was the Ridgefield High School Class of 2018 Valedictorian. He addressed hundreds of classmates, faculty, and family today, Friday, June 22, inside the O'Neill Center at WCSU giving this graduation speech:
Today is a day to celebrate success, and it would be remiss of me not to recognize the people responsible for mine.
Mom, Dad, you two overcame every obstacle to raise a family here. You’ve shown me firsthand what perseverance looks like, what devotion means. You’ve worked tirelessly to ensure your kids had a comfortable life and a bright future.
Mom, you told me on a car ride once that you moved here from China to live the American Dream. I think I was too young at the time to understand what the American Dream meant, but I get it now.
Angela, my favorite sister, you’ve never been afraid to tell me what I needed to hear, instead of what I wanted to hear. I can hardly imagine us being on opposite sides of the country. Thank you for putting up with me. I don’t know where I’d be without you, and frankly, I don’t want to know. You’ve been my closest confidant, my truest guide, and my best friend.
To the teachers, thank you for your dedication to us, for preparing us for our futures and for pushing us to be our best.
And, to the Class of 2018, thank you for being the classmates, peers, and friends I don’t deserve. It’s an honor to be able to speak for you and on your behalf.
Well, look at us. We’ve made it. This graduation is a day we’ve waited for and imagined for, god, how many years. In a few months, we’ll be going our separate ways, scattered across the world.
We’re at a weird and uncertain point in our lives right now. We have to say goodbye to our friends and family. Many of us will be thrust into unfamiliar environments, surrounded by new people. And through all of this, we somehow need to figure out what our future holds, and what exactly we’re going to be doing with ourselves.
I still remember freshman year. Everyone else was so much bigger than me, and I had no idea what was going on. I forgot what that felt like, but, well, I gotta get ready for that again. I have to go from confidently walking in the halls of RHS to being that new guy who knows nothing. That’s nerve-wracking, right? I doubt I’m alone in my sentiments.
Because there’s so much we haven’t learned, and a world out there that we have yet to experience. I mean, I’m still a kid, legally, for another two days. With our lack of experience comes a lot of room for us to grow. And we’ve done a lot of growing over the past four years, but that doesn’t mean we’re stopping any time soon.
Embrace the opportunity to grow. Embrace the uncertainty that comes with growth. And, with that, embrace the ability to make mistakes. To do that, we must first recognize when we’ve erred. That’s alright; we’re still adjusting to the world around us, after all. Don’t lament mistakes, though. Reflect on them. A mistake is only malicious if it does not teach a lesson.
And if we remember this, our futures become, well, more uncertain. But that’s good. That means that we’re not done learning, not about the world around us, not about ourselves.
The past four years have taught us a lot, but we have a lifetime to decide what we make of what we’ve learned here. We’re blessed with time, time to figure out what brings us joy, and time to pursue whatever that is. And if we stick to that plan, then life gets, for once, a little more certain.