West Orange High School valedictorian's speech: Payton Meece

By Payton Meece

These past four years at West Orange High School have shaped us into who we are today. However, these past few months of our senior year will continue to shape us into who we will become in the future. I know none of us ever expected to be having our graduation under these unfortunate circumstances, but I can truly say it has made all of us stronger and more appreciative of the time we had together. 

We can never fully gauge how fast life is passing us by until we understand how much we have grown. Now that our senior year has come to an end, I think we can all agree these past four years of high school have flown by quicker than we could have ever imagined. We all share a plethora of memorable moments that each of us will always cherish as we continue on in life, but we will never get this time back. Time is a quantitative measure, but I believe we should look at time as a measure of quality. The question I ask all of you is, what will you remember from high school? Will it be the number of hours you dedicated to studying for that biology test? Or how about almost pulling an all-nighter to finish that history assignment last minute? I know this will not be the case for everyone here, but instead, we will remember the memories we have created and the relationships we have fostered with one another.

Speaking of relationships, the ones we form are what help define us as a person. We would not be here today if it weren’t for all of the people in our life that contributed in some way to guide us along this journey. I know I would not be up here today having the honor and privilege to speak to all of you if it weren’t for the people that helped me get here, and I know we would not all be graduating today if it weren’t for those same people in each of our lives. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of myself and my fellow graduates to thank all of the parents, guardians and other family members who have shown constant support and motivation throughout our years, and to show appreciation for the sacrifices they have made for us to be successful. We would also like to thank all of our teachers, administrators and faculty members for their continued dedication and commitment to provide us an excellent education. Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my mom, my dad and my brother for always believing in me, pushing me to do my absolute best, but most importantly, loving me unconditionally.

As a closing thought, I’d like to commend how resilient the Class of 2020 is. We were born during the Sept. 11 attacks, and now we are ending high school in the middle of a pandemic. Even though these were setbacks we were challenged with, it’s all about how you perceive the situation. Our perspective on these unprecedented events should not focus on the negative but rather focus on our ability to overcome them. A quote that encapsulates this message is by author Joseph Campbell, who said: “Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.” 

Regardless of these challenges, it is what gives us clarity to discover our true potential. We all reach our successes at different stages, but I implore you to have the drive and ambition to accomplish your hopes and dreams that you want in life. It is with a fond and heartfelt regard that we say our final goodbyes and wish for the best in the next journey of our lives.