 I turn off the television, and I am sitting at my table. I am ready to write this speech. At that moment, I am clueless about what to do, where to start, so I turn on the computer, Google, every student's best friend. Search valedictorian speeches. But for whatever reason, I mysteriously end up on Facebook. And before you know it, I'm nodding my head to Google failed, not because I didn't find some great speeches. But unlike this one, none of them came close to relating to how insanely, amazingly awesome the graduates of 2013 are. Coming to express gratitude on behalf of this body of remarkable students and myself to our lecturers for entertaining our endless inquiries and dealing with our stubbornness at times. But more importantly for sharing a part of their knowledge and experiences, selflessly dedicating themselves to helping us grow academically, socially, and spiritually. To our parents, who did not complain when we left the light on the entire night, with a textbook as a pillow, monies invested on a day to day basis for our needs for food, bus, and not forgetting photocopies. And not forgetting, also, for lighting in the load of house chores when we needed time to study. Well wishes and significant others who endured the cold shoulders, the silent treatments, and the telephone wage when diffusion from textbook to brain was just simply not working out for us. Our students counsel who use their free time in organizing many of our activities and school events and to the candy hustlers, making themselves available wherever we were, ever satisfying our sweet tooth and nourishing our brains with jolly ranchers and airheads, allowing us to sit up in class for another two hours. Thank you. I'd like to take a moment to also remember our schoolmate, Cherise Benoit, from the Division of Arts, Science, and General Studies, who is no longer with us on this journey of excellence. To her family and classmates who mourn her loss, we as a school community grieve with you during your time of bereavement. At this moment, my fellow graduates, it seems like only yesterday when we first got off that mourn bus and stepped foot onto the lush green grass of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College grounds and seek buildings towered overhead. The spectacle of the college's enormous distinctive tree centered amidst the perfect lawn and the chilly weather conditions that presented with the tranquil atmosphere of learning. We had planned for this moment all month and it was here at last, the first day of college. Our brand name shoes, Czech. Jan Spots, Czech. Latest human hair weave, Czech. Mind set for learning, Czech. That because we looked good in other players, swag turned up. All the drama incorporated and mingled itself in the swag which turned into bad hair days, droopy eyes and sore fingers. The exams, the portfolios, the pressure of stats, the labs, the deadlines, the quizzes were all immense encumbrances of school life. Rip off clothes for lunch break all of a sudden when you left class galloping your way there to print your assignment real quick because it's due before the class ends. Sleepless nights were common and the torture of informing your friends that the FET will not see you this weekend because mid-semester exams were bright and early Monday morning. Sometimes I could have sworn the textbook was laughing in my face while I read it. However, tonight I will laugh at it because gravity will be swinging. There will be no exams to stop us. These were no easy days. Sometimes we wanted to call quits. I bet some of us wanted to stay home and watch back-to-back episodes of Bad Girls Club, CSI or Champions League sometimes because it was easier than being a camel carrying those books that felt like rocks on our backs. Occasionally we wouldn't see how we would find time to study and still submit the backlog of projects knowing full well that every lecturer required their projects submitted on time regardless of the 10 other projects given by various other lecturers. Surely our students' day consisted of more than the normal 24 hours. So of course we students had time. But now I see the light. We were being trained early for graveyard shifts in the real world. My personal experience getting home with my truckload of books, spreading them out on the floor, days and confused wondering where to start. And when I was about making progress, my mother would barge in ever so confidently seeing the books and her daughter who looked like she had aged 10 years in one day start her frequent eagle speech. Child, you must be like an eagle and fly high, high above the storm. You must learn to be like an eagle. Oh mother, I would utter. Enough about these eagles. They sure have no assignments. And the only thing that's soaring high, high right now is my pressure. Graduates, nevertheless, we pulled through. In the words of Drake, started from the bottom now, we're here. Seated under this canopy of lights and camera because we are the most important people at this present moment in time and we sure as ever worked hard to achieve this. In about, say, less than half an hour, we will be departing the walls of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College with a degree that says we are smart. And reminisce about those years, those fabulous cheerleading dances of old times, big up cheerleaders. Those water fights, college students will be college students. And seeing our lecturers compete at sports. Ooh, codec moment. Instead, I think it's more important to focus on where we will be in the upcoming years. Whether it's catering a scrumptious three course meal, putting your finishing touches and signature mark on some kitchen cupboards you put together, teaching future generations, balancing your books, or performing CPR at the hospital to a patient who has collapsed. We must use our talents and abilities to be the best that we can be. Perhaps a parable will help you see my point. High on a hilltop, overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, there lived an old man who was a genius. Legend had it he could answer any question anyone might ask of him. Two of the local boys figured they could fold the old man so they caught a small bird and hid it for his residence. One of the boys held the little bird in his hands and asked the old man if the bird was dead or alive. Without hesitation, the old man said, son, if I say to you that the bird is alive, you will close your hand and crush him to death. If I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and he will fly away. You see son, in your hands you hold the power of life and death. In your hands you hold the seeds of failure or the potential for greatness. Your hands are capable but they must be used and for the right things. To reap the rewards you are capable of achieving. Thinking back in time and remembering those eagle speeches, mom was right. When you consider the life of an eagle, you notice that the eagle is the only bird who loves the storm and it faces it head on, using the pressure of the raging winds to push itself higher and higher above the storm until it glides its way through the wind giving its wings an opportunity to rest. As you go into the world of work, liken yourself to an eagle. Get excited when you see challenges because you know they will make you stronger and use those challenges profitably. Your potential in life is not determined by racial or gender characteristics, economic conditions or even social connections or family heritage. Your success, greatness and potential are determined by you alone and all of the characteristics required to achieve your goal and dreams already lie within you. Be cautious not to fall victim to the misleading notion that success is only as a result of the schools we graduate from. Jobs held, awards won, degrees earned, wealth acquired or credentials or certificates obtained. Success and potential are fashioned, developed and determined within ourselves. Graduating in class of 2013, success is never an accident. Again, it is a result of hard work and perseverance. It is up to all of us to be triumphant and to make a difference in our fair island of St. Lucia and by extent the rest of the world. To have people say honorable things about us and to prove that we are capable of attaining great things from what we have learned here at the college. Society is counting on us now to continue carrying the mantle of leadership, to go further than the generation preceding ours, to open doors of opportunity for upcoming generations like our predecessors did for us. While we all hope to find new and exciting experiences in the future, ideally, I hope we will remember our shared experiences. The lessons we've learned and the friendships we've cultivated. Lessons like procrastination is not your friend. You won't get everything right the first time and good friends got your back. Now it's time for us to move on, to use those experiences for the betterment of ourselves and to expand our horizons. We were all unique in our own way and chances are you're probably seated beside the next doctor, the next engineer, perhaps the next forensic scientist or possibly the next prime minister. This is not goodbye, my fellow graduates. This farewell is nothing but a see-you in the next few years when the divisions will be united outside the walls of SALCC. When a nurse will fall in love with a mechanic after a job well done on her vehicle, that nurse who will nurse a secretary who works at a firm headed by a businessman, the secretary who will be so appreciative of the nursing care that she will feel obliged to order a dozen pancakes from a pastry shop of an entrepreneur chef who a week before hired a joiner to bill and install some cupboards and shelves and that joiner who billed those cupboards got the job from his former friend who was told about the job by his friend who works in the Ministry of Infrastructure. Point, regardless of our differences, the different colors of our hoods, we strive together shoulder to shoulder making teams work, companies work, our society work and civilization at large. Time is of the essence. There is a storm coming and we can choose to hide in the branches like other birds or we can choose to rise above the storm aiming high and achieving the goals we set for ourselves. There are people who wake up daily to look in the mirrors at the grain strands that frame their face and catch but a glimps of the young person they used to be staring at quizzically wondering what happened. People who have labored for many years under the authority of another when all they ever wanted to do was be an entrepreneur. Others remain dormant not daring to move forward when all they wanted to do was climb the ladder of success. Let this not be your outcome. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition and don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. We owe it to those who have helped us get to where we are now but more than anyone we owe it to ourselves and we have seats cramped with parents and well-wishers who are there ever ready to facilitate us in our pursuit of excellence. On your various journeys, be sure to laugh much and smile often because high blood pressure is prevalent in silhouettes and a causative factor is stress. Say thank you to those who help and help those who need your assistance along the path because God has given us two hands one to receive with and one to give with. Be sure to be kind to those whom you pass on your way up the ladder because karma is a bitter reality. That eventually makes its way around. But most importantly, my fellow graduates, be sure to put God first in everything that you do because He supplies you with the strength that you need every day. Congratulations, graduating class of 2013 and remember, tough times don't last but tough people do. I thank you. What a creative delivery. Well done, Michelle.