Hello everyone, my name is Jordan Chamness and I am beyond grateful to be up here speaking to you all today as the Class of 2024 valedictorian.

I am grateful for all of the people who have helped me to get to this point in my life and I am grateful to you all, friends and family, for being here with us today. Mimi and Geezer back there! But, this also includes the family that I have up here on this stage with me. Some of us have known each other basically since birth, and some of us only just met two years ago! Regardless, one of the strengths of our class that many people don't know is how connected we all really are! Of course, this comes hand in hand with being such a small school, but it's also because there's never going to be another us. As families do, we've all been making promises to each other over the years, ranging from saving a seat, to even marriage pacts! So, as a parting gift to you all, I have a few promises to make.

Growing up we fought our battles sometimes against each other, but still together. When one of us was put in timeout, we all were put in timeout. When one of us wanted to pick up a new hobby, we all picked up a new hobby! When one of us went through a breakup, we all went through a breakup. My point being is that we all have, already, gone through many highs and lows in our lives. And I promise there will be more. Life isn't easy! I'm sure all of you here can think of plenty of moments where you were convinced that your life was over, everything was falling apart and the world was caving in on you (or maybe that's just more of a teenager thing). But, anyways, it didn't, the world kept turning. We have been able to blossom at the highs and struggle through the lows because of each other.

I want for you all to promise me, you will find people who do the same for you over the next chapter of your life. Find people that not just excuse how messy of a roommate you may be, but also that motivate you to be yourself and will stick by you no matter what. Of course, it won't be quite the same simply because there can never be another us.

My second promise, and a few words that I live by: "good things take time." You can't expect to be making the big bucks right away. It will take hours upon hours of hard work and dedication. I mean, Michael Jordan didn't become a legend just because he touched a basketball. Something a teacher of mine at Bath Regional Career and Technical Center always tells us is, "no one wants to pay their dues." And it's true, if there's a shortcut most people are going to take it. But be different from everyone else because what they aren't getting is the satisfaction of their accomplishments. Did we go through so much stress staying up all night to finish an essay? Yes. We did. But the weight lifted off our shoulders when the grade came back was usually rewarding enough to be worth the night of stress. Think of all the sacrifices our families have made to help us be up here today. When maneuvering through the rest of your lives remember and carry those sacrifices with you in honor of them. The end goal is always to make our parents proud, right?

My third and final promise to you comes in the form of a quote: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Thank you Ferris Bueller. This piece of advice has come to us in different forms over the past eighteen years of our lives. It only started to feel real this year though. It feels like it was just last week that I was walking through the high school with a mask on and not even 50% of the student body there. But now, just like that, it's become our time to walk across this stage and have our names mispronounced.

When I look back on my time here at Boothbay Region High School, the memories that shine brighter to me aren't the ones of winning sports games (when it rarely happened), or the outstanding presentation grades. It's the ones of sitting in Intro to Art, uncontrollably laughing. Or Mr. Brewer and Mr. Liberti dancing to “Oops! I Did it Again” by Britney Spears. Although I think that one's
more scarred into my mind. These are the moments that all of us will recall to our grandchildren someday when we're old and wrinkly! In the same way that many of you have done to us. Not just because these are the moments that made us smile the most. But also because these are what make us proud to go to this school. Between the staff, the students, the events and our community, we're all very proud to announce that we will be Boothbay alumni after today.

Now, I have two favors to ask of you all. Promise me that you will stay true to yourselves. Growing up, and more so now than ever, l've felt like a bit of an anomaly everywhere I go. Who I am doesn't quite line up with who I want to be. To the people who feel similarly, me being up here on this stage shows that you can flow outside of the status quo and still achieve great things. It hasn't been
easy and it's resulted in hundreds of moments of self-reflection, but you need to be confident in who you are. There will never be another you, and every single one of you are deeply loved by hundreds because of who you are. At the very least, fake it til you make it baby! Finally, please, promise me, promise yourselves, and promise those you see around you; that you will live a life you can be proud of. Proud of, in the same way, that we are proud to call ourselves the Boothbay Region High School Class of 2024.