Scott Broadway
Salutatorian Speech
JILHS Commencement
June 4, 1998

"Free at last, free at last!"

Free from High School! Free from the shackles of rules and protocol! Free from morning announcements, the brisk morning walks from the gym, late bells, detentions, referrals, cafeteria lunches, eventful fights, hall passes, crowded hallways, underclassmen, and daily school lockdowns. Boy! Later today we will be free to chew gum, wear hats, carry cell phones, beepers, CD Players, eat lunch wherever we want, commit level 5 violations – Free to choose our daily path. But are the freedoms we will gain worth the love and caring we will miss? The John I. Leonard Administration’s dedication to our safety and well being. Our teachers’ tireless hours of planning, teaching, molding, and aspiring for us to be the very best. Coaches and sponsors for giving us a helping hand so that we could succeed. When will so many people care about us this much ever again? This is a safety nest that I will miss.

Free to leave home! Free from arguments about the wrongs and the rights. Free from the "while you’re living in this house" rules. Free from curfews and clothing approval. Free from parental approval of friends and relationships. Free to go out and wake up whenever and wherever you please! Free to follow no structure or organization. Free to do nothing at all, just be irresponsible. Free from packed lunches and home cooked meals. Today, you will be free to move out, pay for rent, food, utilities, health insurance, car payments, car insurance, and clothing. Free to join the working ranks of society. Free to own up to Uncle Sam each and every April 15. Free to protect yourself and your property. Free to take responsibility for your actions or lack thereof. Free from mommy and daddy’s protection. I ask you, free from what? Lessons, talks, vacations, hugs…tears. A warm and cozy environment. Washed and folded laundry. This is a security blanket I will truly miss. Class, hold on a minute. Now, I know that you have heard this before, but we, as teenagers, take so much for granted. Our safety, our security, our well-being. These things protect and provide for us an environment in which we can learn about life and living. Today, we gain and lose freedoms. Now how free do you feel?

Winston Churchill once stated, "Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." These words describe our predicament, showing that our journey is not yet complete. This is the end of the beginning, and we still have a long way to go into the unknown, into the "undiscovered country" that is our future. Stephen Covey states, "We must seek first to understand, then to be understood." As society sees us, we are at the end of our period of learning, the end of our period of seeking to understand. We are now adults. Now, we go out into the world, to express ourselves and seek to be understood. Society and the IRS think I am adult, but I do not think they are right. I am just as dependent on my parents and teachers as I was before I put on this black nylon. I am not free. Therefore, we need to free ourselves. We need to continue to seek understanding, to continue to learn about the world and where we fit into it. We will cleanse ourselves through learning, freeing our minds from the worries of the past and present. We will free ourselves from the bad influences: the drugs, the alcohol, the violence. Through this cleansing, we will be able to confront life with knowledge and understanding.

Finally, you are free. But I have a challenge for you. Change the world. "How?" you say. Look to your heroes. Modern intellectuals say that there are no more heroes, but I do not think they are right. Would you like me to show you my heroes? If you are a teacher, raise your hand. Now, if you are a parent or grandparent, raise your hand. Great. These people are my heroes because they care enough about your journey that they sacrifice themselves to you. They try to give you an understanding of the world and a chance to do better. They sacrifice and they make this scary world a better place. Isn’t that what heroes do?

My challenge to you is this: make the world better by teaching future generations. Lead them to understanding. Teach anything that makes their lives a little better than your own. I think that it is only appropriate that our teachers host this graduation ceremony so that we can feel inspired before we leave, before we take our rolled up piece of freedom and journey off. Look around you at all those exit doors. Are you ready?