The first day of the rest of our lives.

I’m just warning you all. This one is going to be soppy. So if you don’t want to cry, look away now!

Today marks one of the greatest changes in my life. Six years ago I “graduated” from primary school and at the time  it was the biggest event in my life to date. So much has changed since then.

I have achieved some of the greatest accomplishments in my life in secondary school. I achieved high grades in the junior certificate and hope to go on to achieve highly in the leaving cert as well. For someone whose parents were told would never even go to school I feel I have surpassed almost every limitation. Next year could see me starting a new term in my academic life, but this time it will be to become a doctor, a psychologist or even a teacher. Of course it all depends on my final exams. The Leaving Cert still hangs over all of us, but like all other obstacles, this is one that we must and can overcome.

For all this success, I thank firstly my parents. Without you I could never have achieved anything. It was your determination that gave me the impetus to persevere. When life was tough you were always there for me. Through the good and bad I know you will always be a constant and strong presence in my life. It is not only my parents of course who have been my pillars of support in life. All of the rest of my family have played a huge part in the success that I have had.

Secondly to my teachers. Thank you for believing in me. You could have dismissed me as someone who would never achieve. But you did not and without your support I would have never survived school, both personally and academically. There are too many of you to name but know that all of you played some part in my life, no matter how small. I will be eternally grateful to you and will never forget my time in your tutelage.

Lastly to my friends, thank you all. Thank you for accepting me, thank you for supporting me, thank you for being there for me when I needed you and thank you for calling me your friend. Of all people it is you that I think of most regarding all those years we spent in school together. Some of you I have known since I was five. I never thought on that first day of school in 1996 that we would all still be good friends. I will however maintain that I did not in fact cry my eyes out that first day. Although I’m sure you will all contradict me.

Some of you I have known since our first year in secondary school and more still I have only really gotten to know in the last few years. We have been through so much together that I feel our friendships are as strong as any other. Perhaps I never got to know some of you properly and that I regret. But it is my greatest wish for the future that we can all succeed in life together and that we will all look back on today with the fondest of memories when our own children are graduating from school and facing the big, bad world. I know that in years to come we will laugh about our last days in school and especially our final hours. The slip n’ slide that was organised by some of you was the best finale to our school life that I could have imagined.

It would be easy to have a bleak outlook on life in today’s world. There is war and turmoil, civil unrest, economic instability, however I know that with friends like you I have a reason to be hopeful.

This is going to sound soppy, but it’s from the bottom of my heart and is genuine. I love you all and know that this is not goodbye, but a hello to a brand new future.