Let us be lions!
Good evening. My fellow graduates, tonight I want to tell you a story. It is a tale very dear to my high school career and very near to my heart. It goes like this: “Every morning as the sun breaks over the African savannah, a gazelle wakes up and thinks ‘I must run faster than the fastest lion so I will not be eaten.’ And every morning in the savannah, a lion wakes up and thinks ‘I must run faster than the slowest gazelle so I will eat.’ Are you going to be the gazelle or the lion?’”
You may, as I often have, instinctively respond “gazelle.” Maybe it’s the idea that they are running for their life, pushing themselves to their maximum potential. Or maybe it has to do with how just wonderfully majestic they look when leaping through the savannah. Either way, most are convinced that they must embody the gazelle.
Tonight, I stand before you with a quite different perspective. Tonight, I am encouraging us to be lions.
The landmarks of our future are just before us. College, jobs, future relationships and experiences are glinting on the edges of our horizons. Maybe we are nervous to approach these events, maybe excited and impatient, or possibly even dreading them. But face it; we must face them. And we must face them as lions. As hunters of the savannah, we cannot run from these moments, but run toward them. And we should not fear them, but rather yearn to take them on. For these challenges are the gazelles of our environments. We must wake and set our sights on a new goal, a new obstacle to overcome. And then we must tackle it. Success cannot be achieved with fear and ambivalence; it must be approached with determination and passion. Indeed as lions we must be courageous, tenacious, and, above all, ambitious.
And as lions we must utilize each other. Whether it be the skills, encouragement, or support of another, we can work together to chase down our quarries. Look around you now. Have these individuals, your friends, teachers, and peers, not supported you in your time here at South? And in the future you will meet plenty of new, interesting lions to assist you in your endeavors. But I want to encourage you to never be hesitant to call back to the members of this pack.
Use your time here at South and your experiences throughout your high school career to guide you in your future efforts. Like a lion, learn from each hunt, and carry this information with you for your future. And at the end of each day, you may realize that you have not have achieved the success you sought out. But remember, when you wake the next morning, the sun will rise again over your savannah and you can start the chase anew.
Graduates of the Class of 2013, it is time to let your ambition run wild. When facing your future, it is OK to be fearful and understandable to be intimidated. But recall that to pursue success, you must be brave and you must be passionate. Use your peers and your experiences to reach your goals and always be willing to learn and to try again. So, my fellow classmates, I leave you with one final piece of advice — be tenacious, be ambitious and never be afraid to let out a roar.