Valedictorian Woman

The bright lights bounced off the shiny wood stage. My shoes pinched my toes and my stomach felt like it was about to fall out. I walked out across the stage in front of thousands of people; I felt their eyes upon me.

I reached the lectern and grasped the edge of the podium. The stage lights of Hunter College’s auditorium momentarily blurred my vision.

I began my valedictorian speech—me, a “returning woman” who didn’t begin college until I was twenty-five, me—a woman who worked fulltime while attending college and still managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA, me—the woman whom most people assumed would never go to college.

I spoke about perseverance, which we must constantly choose to create for ourselves. Perseverance and belief in myself were the guiding principles that allowed me to graduate at the head of my class of almost 1,000 students.

We must claim our places in the world. We must not delay our lives for a single moment; we must wake up every day and realize we create the lives and selves we dream of. Here, today, in the “now,” is our opportunity.

We cannot let whatever our passion is to slip past us. We can’t. The world needs passionate women committed to creating a new world order. The world needs each of us to be uniquely ourselves and share with the world.

Find me at: http://www.EveryDayCreate.com