A Graduates Speech - July 2014

The Importance of Being Real

It is not until one is real that one is free—free of the crippling pressure of shame, free of the paralyzing grasp of fear—and as awful as these are, the only way is through.

By the time I was 16, I had no idea who I was. I spent hours every night planning the next day. I thought through everything I said before I said it. Hours wasted holding back what I really wanted to say because just being me wasn’t good enough. By the time I was 16, I was lost—lost in an overwhelming world, stuck behind a façade I had grown so sick of.

Now on July 18^th, 2014, I can finally say that I’ve shed my mask. I speak from my heart, not from my fear. I fall asleep proud; proud of all I accomplished that day; proud of who I’ve become. I found that not only have I found the real me, but I have found someone who is greater than I ever could’ve pretended to be.

I took off my mask, and my skin breathed in the fresh air, soaked up the sun. I’m glowing with the essence of me, a courageous and successful young woman who lives life to its fullest.

Embracing the real me has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. I’ve had to surrender the urges to please those around me. I’ve had to surrender the urges to plan my life before it has a chance to happen. I let go of the shame and fear that suffocated me for so long, and I took a deep breath of sweet reality. A reality that’s better than I ever could have forced it to be. A reality in which I can thrive.

This is my time, and I am taking full advantage of it. I’m on the right path, the path that my fate has set out for me. Now that I am the real me, I’m ready to take on the world with valor, and I know that the real me is capable of doing whatever she puts her mind to.