ROHS Graduation Speech: Gina Saab

Following is the speech Royal Oak High School senior Gina Saab delivered Thursday evening at ROHS commencement:

I slid into the doors of our high school with all of you a scrawny, short,—well, I’m still, short—round-faced freshman, shy and awkward, uncertain and unsure. I walked into the doors of ROHS on August 25, 2007 with a lot of expectations. I think we all did. It was a new opportunity, a clean slate: a big pile of other kids who didn’t have a clue who you were, who didn’t know about that one time in the seventh grade when you accidently got gum stuck in your hair in the middle of class and had to stand there while Mrs. Hugel cut it out with a pair of scissors and never saw your cute, plump, little burning red twelve-year old cheeks—no. You were just like the rest of them: unknown and walking into the unknown.

So on that first day we asked ourselves, “Who will we be today?” Really, it was something we had four years to decide. People went out for sports, joined clubs, made new clicks and expanded the old ones, all trying to create some sort of identity. Should I be like her? Should I dress like him? Is it to cliché to do this or say that? We made mistakes and we stepped back, again and again we stepped back and asked ourselves that same question. Daily we tried to make changes, for the better, sometimes for what ended up being worse, but in the end—we did change.

Sometimes I look back at what I thought I would be bolting out of these doors in 2011, and I say to myself, “Oo... didn’t quite hit that superwoman, Harvard-bound nail on the head!” But that’s not to say that each of us hasn’t grown to be something more than what we were on that first day: think of the AP Bio class you took that you never thought you could even handle reading a Wikipedia page on, let alone a textbook; think of the varsity soccer team you never thought you could make; the ROX audition you finally went for the friends you’ve made who are practically siblings, whom before you barely fathomed you would ever even have the courage to walk up and say hello to; the girls you’ve kissed; the thoughts you’ve danced with; teachers and moments in life that have shaped you into this, and suddenly you’re not so young. Who will I be today? Here, you are: you’ve become someone with a plan for college, passions, and an actual opinion on Obama’s health care plan! As a class and as individuals, we have certainly changed.

And next year you will walk into the doors of that college or university or vocational school, and all around you you’ll see again a new opportunity, a clean slate: a big pile of other young adults who don’t have a clue who you are, who don’t know about that one time your sophomore year when you accidently walked into a wall and everyone was watching you and your cute little 15-year old face burning bright red—no. You’ll be just like the rest of them: unknown and walking into the unknown.

So when you take the first steps into the new halls of your new life, ask yourself: who will I be today? What impact will you make on the world around you when you step outside these doors? And for the rest of our lives, when we take our first steps into our first apartments, our first own houses, into the church to watch our best friend’s wedding, into our first day at the Google Corporation office or the new job at the hair salon, let’s ask ourselves, “Who will we be today?” Because only we can decide: decide as individuals and decide as Royal Oak High School’s class of 2011.