Shake It Off

Chapter 1

Here I am. Graduation day. Everyone is wearing their dark blue robes and graduation hats. Everyone was looking at us. The class of 2015. I was at the end of the row in the back. Which meant I was last to accept my certificate. But before that, I had to make a speech. A speech of which I have to talk about the great memories of high school and quotes of great people. I had few memories, but lots of quotes.

"Now," Principle Phillip said, "please welcome to the stage Claire Adams." Everyone then applauded. Principle Phillip looked at me and gestured towards the podium. My hands were shaking. It took everything in me to get out of my chair and walk up to the stage.

Everyones eyes were on me. And I wasn't very okay with that. I remember getting picked to make a speech.

I was completely fixed on my maths assignament when Mrs. Hall tapped me on the shoulder ever-so-softly. "Claire? Honey, Principle Phillip would like to see you over something very important," she says. Oh God. I've never been in trouble before. Never.

She led me to his office. He was sitting in his chair in his green turtle neck sweater whilst drinking coffee. He noticed us and smiled a bit. "Claire! There you are! Come sit. I have something important to ask you," he said. Ask me? I hope he's not talking about Amber, the greatest of the greatest. 

Her and her 'friends,' Tiffany and Olivia, knew every trick in the book to make you feel intimidated. They've been the queen bees since 7th grade. Amber was the Regina George of this high school. A manipulative bitch who could wrap any boy around her finger. She had the platinum hair and the lipgloss to tear any boy to shreds. She was a tennis player, and with that she sported a short skirt and crop top. 

Tiffany had big blue eyes and jet black hair, and she almost always sported white clothing and red lips. She was absolutely on point. And then there's Olivia, who had the boobs that tied the group together. They were the clique.

"I was wondering if you could make a speech at the graduation ceremony. You have an amazing vocabulary and wonderful english grades. I couldn't think of anyone better," he smiled at me hopefully. I was shocked, yet honored. "Of course!" I said, wide-eyed. "Great!" he said, then explained every little detail needed.

When I reached the podium, I looked at everyone in the crowd. They were all silent, even the kids, which put even more pressure on me. I'm a competitive cheerleader, but I was used to cheering, and not all eyes on specifically on me. I looked at my que cards, and spoke.

"Has it ever occurred to you that Graduation day is a bit like looking into a kaleidoscope? It’s full of pictures jumbled together all of which together make up your life. There are the images of your growing years with your family and friends. Then there are the pictures of your student activities, the classmates you met and, finally, the wonderful excitement of today your graduation day. The pictures of your future are very vague because, of course, none of us knows what the future holds.

Today we have the good feel factor that comes from knowing that we have done our best. We have achieved and qualified. We didn’t do it alone of course. All along the way we had the wonderful support of our families and the encouragement and help of our tutors. It’s likely that some of us took this for granted as only our due. Today, though, as mature and newly qualified adults, we recognise that without that back-up we could not have succeeded. So today I know my fellow students would like to join me in saying how much we appreciate all those who have helped make this day possible.

Included in that are our fellow students. They pored over the textbooks with us, drank innumerable cups of coffee with us and exchanged views with us. That is probably what has given us the most important education of all. After all when we enter the working world we will be working with all sorts of people from varying backgrounds and our experience here will tell us this is a good thing, that the world is full of wonderful people with different ideas and talents.

From now on we will be taking our talents and beliefs with us wherever we go .If we have learned anything it is that we have to be adaptable. ready to take chances and go different routes. The day of a job for life is almost gone. These days we have to be ready to update our knowledge, add to our skills and be ready to cope with change.

That’s the challenge before us and it is one that we will all meet in our different ways. Some of us will want to stay at home, others to travel the four corners of the earth. Some will like to work alone while others will want to work in a partnership. Whatever we do our wherever we go we won’t forget today. Hopefully in years to come we will meet up with our friends again at a re-union. That is, of course something we have to organise so I am sure you will understand that we will have to go out on the town tonight to make our plans.

Finally, I would like to wish my fellow graduates, fellow graduates now that has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? I would like to wish them health and happiness in the future and the satisfaction of knowing that whatever they do they will do it well. After all they are graduates of Riverdell, and that is just another name for high school of excellence 

Today we are throwing our caps in the air 

Getting ready to go different ways 

To tackle the world head on my friends 

And to start on the very first phase 

Of adult life with all it implies 

No more running home to mum 

But making her proud of the lives we lead 

And showing our dads we’re not dumb. 

So today as we sit in this great big hall 

We’d like to give our thanks to you all 

For being there when we needed you 

Now it’s our turn to show what we do 

I don’t know how or why or when 

But goodbye my friends until we meet again"

Now, I was off to a new Chapter.

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HOW DO YOU LIKE IT! It's only chapter one, but I'm trying to base it a little bit off of Taylor's new song, Shake It Off. FYI, I got that speech online, I do NOT own it. That is why the text might be a bit bigger. I suck at speeches.