All It Takes by Valerie Kank
I’ve been here four years yet it feels like twenty. I’m just sitting here now in this wobbly, partially rusted fold up chair. Our high school is nice how it sets in the valley and little town of Brooks and all but what good does that do when we all leave it? It’s the things that happen inside that we’re going to carry with us when we walk out of its doors, not our green and black Mountain View High sweatshirts and sweatpants. I only own two sweatshirts anyway. I pushed myself to go through the typical phases of high school of buying trendy clothes and going through the “bad boy” phase. Neither really had any outstanding outcome. After freshmen year though, I started to give up, not on myself, but on trying too much to be something I’m not. I guess compared to society I’m the ugly duckling that just quite doesn’t fit in. I thought maybe junior year I’d find at least a few people that genuinely did like me for me and wanted to do things that friends do. However, I’m not confident that more than fifteen people in this entire school even know my name. Sam isn’t even a hard name to remember either. I’ve smiled at people, tried to say hi, and once asked someone to come to my sixteenth birthday party. She actually did show up too and she brought her friend Scott with her. Now Anya has become the one person I could call my friend and I am very grateful for that. Scott I think would consider us friends as well. So everyone may not know me but they sure know Carrie. Carrie is the stereotypical, pretty, somewhat intelligent, up to date fashionable high school girl that everyone seems to have heard of. She mainly hangs around with her boyfriend Sean and her other friend Jade who both pretty much hold the same status. They’ve seen me and they know after 9th grade I started to retreat back from attempting to be outgoing and I didn’t talk much at all after that. It’s hard to be rejected from people your own age, especially when all you want to do is be friendly. We all had a decent amount of classes together which only helped them hurt me. I remember sophomore year in History when Carrie, Jade, and Sean all sat right at the table next to me. Carrie once said, “Wow, like that must really suck to not have any friends or know how to match your clothes and stuff.” Then Jade chimed in and said, “I know I feel like kinda bad... Nah I don’t really care as long as you and me look good haha!” Carrie replied, “Oh yeah! I don’t know she’s just so weird and like honestly it freakin’ creeps me out when she just sits there and says nothing.” Of course I wanted to say something but I just couldn’t. I felt like it just wasn’t even worth it. I don’t just hear them either, I see them. I watch their eyes stare at me up and down like a piece of garbage that is deaf and blind to my own surroundings. How can someone make such hurtful, ridiculing judgements based on someone they have never even spoken to? My mom and Anya keep telling me one day Carrie and Jade will be on the receiving end of how they treat me but who knows. I think it’s wrong to wish bad things on other people because then aren’t you just as bad? As a kid I didn’t even know the definition of quiet. I went up to anyone that walked through our white, paint chipped front door and gave them a huge hug and just started blabbing on about my Barbies, which I usually carried at all times. I just really started struggling in 9th grade. I was exposed to high schoolers and how they acted when there are no adults around. Being around them for six hours, five days a week, planted a type of fear into me. I feared becoming like some of them. These kids don’t know my name, my interests, or my personality, but I know about theirs. I overheard Jade one afternoon in the library talking to the senior quarterback that Carrie wanted to go to prom with. “Well, I know you’re good friends with Carrie so yeah I was just really hoping maybe you can tell her I really admire her and would love to get to know her better”, he said. Jade whispered back with, “Oh I guess you don’t know... Carrie is like really into drugs and smoking. I try telling her it’s not good for her and that I’m a really good role model but at this point she is just kind of a hopeless cause.” At first, he didn’t seem intrigued, but the more Jade went on with the lies the more she reeled him in on her line. Those are the types of things I see that make it so hard to believe that someone can truly trust another person, even the ones who swear they won’t tell. I didn’t even have the requirement of needing a friend I could talk to about my crushes or paint our nails at sleepovers. No. I just wanted someone I could call friend and they could honestly say the same. It feels like 90% of this school is just teenagers who walk around with sandwich boards and cardboard signs advertising for a new “friend” each week. Somehow, it turns out still nobody wants me when I’m confident I’m a good friend. I believe I’m a good friend because I listen and don’t interrupt. I voice my opinion but I don’t overpower. By what I hear some of these poor helpless kids in this school say and talk about, I know I could be of help and be that person they can turn to. The irony is that it’s not me that ignores them and neglects to wave back. It’s not me that smacks into their shoulders in the hallway and neglects to apologize. It’s not me who doesn’t return the hello. I’m not mad at anyone though. Life is so short as it is let alone spending time being angry with people. Also, I think every voice deserves to be heard at some point for one extraordinary and memorable moment, no matter how many times it has been heard before. Adults and teachers always say that high school especially flies right by. I really, really didn’t want to go four years, in the same building, with people I’ve technically been growing up with for all this time, and have them leave without even knowing I exist. It’s not the fact that I want them to know a name to my face. I just have always felt that there was just something that needed to be said. I didn’t know exactly what that something was but I knew it had to be done and I had this feeling it had to be from me.
The sun is just gently falling behind the trees. There is silence in the air with the exception of some voices coming from small children in the stands. “It is now my honor and pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker for our ceremony tonight. Please welcome Sam Keeton everybody.” There is an applause accompanied by some bewildered faces. A bird glides above me as I walk to the podium as if it were my escort. I walk up the stairs to the platform full of brilliant and talented teachers in long black robes. I gaze at them for a second and take deep breath. My eyes close for a second and I don’t focus on anything except this single moment right here, right now. I pick my right foot up and slowly drag it behind me, turning myself around. With all that I have, I pick my head up and look at the crowd. I lowered the microphone slightly and took one last deep breath and took in this surreal moment. “Good evening everyone. It’s really great to uh... see all these parents, friends, and families here for us kids. For those of you in the stands, you may not know my name or have ever heard of me. As to my fellow classmates sitting in front of me, most of you probably don’t know my name either. I know everyone is anxious and excited to officially be declared alumni of Mountain View High School, so I made this short enough to get to the point. My name is Sam Keeton and I’ve attended Mountain View High School for four years. As I said, you may not have ever seen me and if you did maybe you didn’t really make anything of it. That isn’t my point though. I didn’t come up here to tell you that you need to know me and remember my name for the years to come. No, that’s not it. I worked up all the courage in my body and mind to come up here and just ask you to try to listen for only a few minutes. You may be thinking that I don’t really have a lot to say or that I don’t know anything because I’m not a cheerleader, or in the band, or on student council. The thing is, I know a lot more than it may seem like.” I stand on the tip of my toes and lean my head to the right side of the microphone. Then I take my arm above the podium and I point to a girl sitting on the left half of the football field. “Dara, I know you applied to that Ivy League school and are waiting for a letter back regarding your acceptance. I’m very confident that you will certainly get in and be successful and what you want to pursue.” Dara looked to her friend sitting next to her. She tilted her head a little to the right and her mouth had slightly opened. However, she had a smile on her face that displayed complete awe and amazement. “And you Matt! I know all you want to do is go into the Marines but everyone has been telling you that you’re not qualified. Who are they to tell you you’re not qualified? What I want to tell you is that you have what it takes and if anyone else tells you different you just wait to knock on their door one day wearing your uniform.” Matt stood up out of his chair with a grin from cheek to cheek and he raised his hand to his forehead as if saluting. “Sarah, you’ve been working harder than I’ve ever seen anyone work to live a healthier lifestyle and let me tell you it is just incredible. You looked wonderful before but to know that you are proud of your “new” self, is even more wonderful.” I saw a few people turn their heads around in the chairs and look at Sarah and smile. A few girls were wiping tears away from their eyes, including Sarah. “I could go on but I think I made my point. I know I am quiet, but I am not the only quiet person you will ever encounter in your life. There will be people you go to school with and work with that tend to stay to themselves. I just encourage each and every one of you to be that brave person to take the first step in introducing yourself to everyone you meet. You never know what could come out of it. This isn’t just for the more outgoing people. For those of you who know you keep to yourself, don’t wait like I did to say something. Everyone deserves the chance to be able to say how they feel and what they think. My point is, in high school we tend to naturally separate ourselves into groups of same interests and whatnot. We don’t need to do that though and we shouldn’t. Clearly the high school journey has ended for us but it doesn’t end our journey with people. We are all more alike than we think and there is no time to waste separating ourselves. If we all just took a moment to appreciate everyone and everything around us, I think we would make one small step in making this world a little bit better. Go on and do great things. I’m Sam Keeton and I wish you luck my friends.”
I walked back down the middle of the two sections of chairs to find my seat. My hearing wasn’t very clear but all I heard was a muffled sound of loud roaring cheers in the stand and the students clapping and patting me on my back as I walked down that aisle. It felt as though time had stopped for that very moment and I’d never felt so wonderful in my entire life. I was surrounded by all my new friends, also known as the class of 2002. All it takes is a little courage.
The sun is just gently falling behind the trees. There is silence in the air with the exception of some voices coming from small children in the stands. “It is now my honor and pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker for our ceremony tonight. Please welcome Sam Keeton everybody.” There is an applause accompanied by some bewildered faces. A bird glides above me as I walk to the podium as if it were my escort. I walk up the stairs to the platform full of brilliant and talented teachers in long black robes. I gaze at them for a second and take deep breath. My eyes close for a second and I don’t focus on anything except this single moment right here, right now. I pick my right foot up and slowly drag it behind me, turning myself around. With all that I have, I pick my head up and look at the crowd. I lowered the microphone slightly and took one last deep breath and took in this surreal moment. “Good evening everyone. It’s really great to uh... see all these parents, friends, and families here for us kids. For those of you in the stands, you may not know my name or have ever heard of me. As to my fellow classmates sitting in front of me, most of you probably don’t know my name either. I know everyone is anxious and excited to officially be declared alumni of Mountain View High School, so I made this short enough to get to the point. My name is Sam Keeton and I’ve attended Mountain View High School for four years. As I said, you may not have ever seen me and if you did maybe you didn’t really make anything of it. That isn’t my point though. I didn’t come up here to tell you that you need to know me and remember my name for the years to come. No, that’s not it. I worked up all the courage in my body and mind to come up here and just ask you to try to listen for only a few minutes. You may be thinking that I don’t really have a lot to say or that I don’t know anything because I’m not a cheerleader, or in the band, or on student council. The thing is, I know a lot more than it may seem like.” I stand on the tip of my toes and lean my head to the right side of the microphone. Then I take my arm above the podium and I point to a girl sitting on the left half of the football field. “Dara, I know you applied to that Ivy League school and are waiting for a letter back regarding your acceptance. I’m very confident that you will certainly get in and be successful and what you want to pursue.” Dara looked to her friend sitting next to her. She tilted her head a little to the right and her mouth had slightly opened. However, she had a smile on her face that displayed complete awe and amazement. “And you Matt! I know all you want to do is go into the Marines but everyone has been telling you that you’re not qualified. Who are they to tell you you’re not qualified? What I want to tell you is that you have what it takes and if anyone else tells you different you just wait to knock on their door one day wearing your uniform.” Matt stood up out of his chair with a grin from cheek to cheek and he raised his hand to his forehead as if saluting. “Sarah, you’ve been working harder than I’ve ever seen anyone work to live a healthier lifestyle and let me tell you it is just incredible. You looked wonderful before but to know that you are proud of your “new” self, is even more wonderful.” I saw a few people turn their heads around in the chairs and look at Sarah and smile. A few girls were wiping tears away from their eyes, including Sarah. “I could go on but I think I made my point. I know I am quiet, but I am not the only quiet person you will ever encounter in your life. There will be people you go to school with and work with that tend to stay to themselves. I just encourage each and every one of you to be that brave person to take the first step in introducing yourself to everyone you meet. You never know what could come out of it. This isn’t just for the more outgoing people. For those of you who know you keep to yourself, don’t wait like I did to say something. Everyone deserves the chance to be able to say how they feel and what they think. My point is, in high school we tend to naturally separate ourselves into groups of same interests and whatnot. We don’t need to do that though and we shouldn’t. Clearly the high school journey has ended for us but it doesn’t end our journey with people. We are all more alike than we think and there is no time to waste separating ourselves. If we all just took a moment to appreciate everyone and everything around us, I think we would make one small step in making this world a little bit better. Go on and do great things. I’m Sam Keeton and I wish you luck my friends.”
I walked back down the middle of the two sections of chairs to find my seat. My hearing wasn’t very clear but all I heard was a muffled sound of loud roaring cheers in the stand and the students clapping and patting me on my back as I walked down that aisle. It felt as though time had stopped for that very moment and I’d never felt so wonderful in my entire life. I was surrounded by all my new friends, also known as the class of 2002. All it takes is a little courage.