 a start, a continuation and intermission. We all view this day from a different perspective. A few years ago, we embarked on a journey of finding a place for ourselves, a career path with which we would be satisfied. As we approach this campus, we were greeted by bleak walls within which, lectures awaited, PowerPoint presentations were looming, assignments seemed to be the order of the day while grades stared sturdily in the face. Some were apprehensive, some were excited, while others who viewed it as just another step approached it with indifference. We were all forced, some more than others, to make adjustments. For some, the pressure to fit in with the multicolored additions to the uniforms and high heels and stockings were sometimes overwhelming. It was difficult to be the student once again and not the teacher, and adapting to those time schedules which demanded every second of our lives was a great challenge. This was a different time, a different place, which demanded everything from all of us. No longer will we be surrounded by colleagues of just our age group, but in our midst, were persons who could be our parents and some who could be our children. In fact, some did become mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and notched at those of us who still remain children. Regardless of where we came from or who we were, we shared our hobbies, our personal lives. Sometimes we twiddled our thumbs and counted stars in the hope that someday, like today, we would become a star. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who first had a dream. At the beginning of this journey, I too had a dream. I had a dream to see this day and beyond. As the road stretched ahead, the journey seemed impossible. The end, distant. Nevertheless, our lecturers smilingly propelled us forward with PowerPoint presentations, projects, assignments, and a list of activities which seemed never-ending. Some of us, unprepared for the potholes filled with challenges that looked in the corners where we least expected, fell flat on our faces. For some, the journey was too overwhelming, so they said farewell before they could say a proper hello. However, those of us seated here today saw the green lights of encouragement, skillfully dodged the reckless drivers called discouragement and refused to be bulldozed by those long vehicles with assignments, tutorials, projects, and exams. We put on shields of determination and armed ourselves with the will to succeed. However, as we became comfortable in our chairs and adapted to the unbearable sounds of the weed eater every Monday morning, we exploited our flexible hours, which some of us regarded as freedom. The classrooms were no longer filled to capacity as persons ditched classes daily to complete yesterday's assignments or to rush to town to splurge in the wings of love sale, or just to avoid another PowerPoint presentation. While the workload did not prove difficult, 168 hours multiplied by four at times seemed insufficient to complete the work. So we prayed on our understanding lecturers who sometimes gave us extensions and the patient secretaries and office staff who became our lifelines. These kind individuals who were less strangers at first would wait for us to staple and bind all of our assignments. We all enjoyed those long lines at the Reprographic Center, otherwise known to us as the Reporph. Every student visited that center on a daily basis to print, reprint, bind, or complain about the prices. Despite our grumbling, Dwight and Tony, who just served, laughed and teased us because they knew that someday, like today, we would look back and somehow miss them. I bet now they are enjoying the new plight of students, that included. We shook hands and journeyed with a combination of characters. And for these few years, Soapha Lewis Community College began to feel like the television network USA Characters welcomed. We hosted the jokers who stepped in from time to time. The book hoggers whom we wish should fall off the edge of the cliff. The library worms we hoped would disappear under the earth. The limers we pretended not to notice. But more importantly, we welcomed you, the talkers, the writers, the singers, the painters, and those of unknown talents. And the bonds, all the bonds that we form at this place. It was said that some people come into our lives for a reason, some for a season, and others for a lifetime. And we proved that right here, as some of us became friends forever. So as the songwriter Vitamin C aptly puts it, as we go on, we remember all the times we shared together. Now I urge you to take a look around you and see the very same persons who participated in the water fights, who pulled you along as you stumbled in the marathon, whose lunches you shared on those lunch tables. Take a look at the persons who shared in your laughter, or who wiped your tears when things were just not going right. Take a look at the persons who encouraged you to miss that one o'clock class to continue some uncensored or unrelated school discussion. Then laugh at you when you were caught in the act. We journeyed on. We journeyed on after the effects of Thomas, Hurricane Thomas. That hurricane instilled a sense of respect combined with fear of the rain. We were also edgy and frightened when the rains came. We sought early dismissal from five o'clock classes to head home in the south. One day, a truck filled with construction workers rescued some of us from Mexico. Despite its destruction, this storm strengthened the bonds among students as individuals were always on guard for those who lived or passed through areas including Chumase and Bexor because of the river. Wasen Slep Martin 1958 was the one who said that success is not measured by how much you accomplish, but the opposition you have overcome and the courage you have maintained to the struggle against all odds. Each one of us is a representation of the challenges we have overcome to earn our place at this momentous occasion. For those of us who are unfamiliar with leftovers but acquired an appetite for that day, Kushe, this is your day. For those of us who appreciated the value of a dollar because we spent $20 or more daily only on bus fare, this is your day. For those of us without the luxuries of textbooks, computers, who stole wireless just to complete that assignment on time, this is your day also. For all of us who saw the break of dawn without sleep for nights on end because we were dotting our eyes and crossing our teeth, only to be slapped if an exam two hours later, we made it. The words of Henry Wadsworth 1982 summed the experience nicely. The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but while the companions slept, they were toiling upward through the night. It is with honor and great pride I say to you, it was all worth it. So our creator whom we owe everything to for his sifts as mercies, guidance and strength, we say thank you. Thank you for walking us through this journey and carrying us when the road was too much. So the staff of the Soapha Louise Community College, we say a heartfelt thank you. We appreciate the contribution you made to our journey here. So the lecturers, we are forever indebted to you for your time, patience, understanding, along with all those teachable moments we consider gibberish at the time. To our families who supported us throughout this journey, we say thank you. Thank you for tolerating our books, chats, cutouts, our bags on the floor, on the table, on the bed. Thank you for just sitting with us when we did assignments and just needed the company. We appreciate your love, support and tolerance. To my fellow graduates, as we continue our journey beyond the walls of the Soapha Louise Community College, let us take with us the lessons learned, the values instilled and the friendships cultivated. Charles Dickens said, the pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again. Among us are scientists, farmers, doctors, ministers, nurses, teachers, no matter the career path, let us endeavor to positively impact the lives entrusted in our care and the world by extension. In closing, I would like every one of you to raise your right hand. Raise them, raise them. Place it on the person sitting to your right. I can now safely say that my speech has touched everyone here today. Our journey has not ended. We just completed another leg. And as for my dream, it is still in the making. Congratulations everyone, this is your time. You have worked hard, reap the rewards. I thank you.