Celeste Jacobson-Ingram’s Valedictory Address at Grossmont High School

Celeste Jacobson-Ingram delivered this speech June 16, 2011, at Grossmont High School commencement. She is the daughter of William Ingram and Beth Jacobson of La Mesa. Celeste plans to attend UC Berkeley.

Good morning, friends, families and—most importantly—Grossmont Class of 2011!

I feel like a rock star.

It’s crazy to think that after about 4,285 days, seven Harry Potter books, 38 Now That’s What I Call Music CDs, hundreds of those bagged cafeteria milks, thousands of recesses, millions of words written (only about 20 of which have been in cursive for most of us.  I feel betrayed by my third-grade teacher) and way too many laughs to count, our journey finally ends here, amidst these sweaty polyester robes, fashionable hats and what is sure to be a night set to a touching play list.  Perhaps Time of Your Life by Green Day, Friends Forever by Vitamin C or Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO.

Our journey has been long and occasionally treacherous as we marched in a solemn procession of imagined self-importance from elementary school to middle school, took a pit stop to cry as we came to the realization that we would not, in fact, be getting our Hogwarts letters (although some of us have still not given up hope), and eventually braved the traffic to sit here, surrounded by our nation’s future businessmen, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and burger flippers.

The most amazing thing about this crazy Crossroads-without-as-much-Britney-Spears-esque road trip that we call life is the sheer number of opportunities we are presented with every single day.  

They say the meek shall inherit the earth, but what they don’t tell you is that the bold will get the best deals on Black Friday.

Opportunities for personal growth as well as the betterment of our world in general are everywhere.  We as a generation just need to sharpen our vision and take initiative.  Some opportunities will be presented to us on a silver platter, ready for us to seize and make our own.  Others, however, will be a little more difficult to find and achieve.  Like going to college.  Or getting away with parking in someone else’s spot in the senior lot.  

A word of advice to the juniors out there: Invest in car window markers.  I guarantee they will come in handy someday.  The most tragic part about opportunity is that you will never know what you have missed until it’s too late.  You can either put yourself out there and try to conquer the world and be the very best like no one ever was, even if it doesn’t work exactly as planned, or you can sit on your couch and play Black Ops all day.  

But most opportunities are not like a boomerang.  Once you throw them away, they are never coming back.   Time does not go backward or slow down—unless
you’re in Spanish class.  The clock will keep ticking despite your protests, and will not wait for you to fix your regrets.  

Living without regret isn’t about doing the wrong thing and then feeling no remorse. It’s about doing the right thing so you don’t have to feel remorse.  Missing what could have been a golden chance to make a difference, to help others, to discover yourself or to create something beautiful is something you will always regret.

But for every opportunity we take to improve the world, we should take an opportunity to improve ourselves. Because let’s face it. We’re the class of 2011.

We’re spirited, friendly, intelligent and pretty darn good-looking.  We deserve to treat ourselves every once in a while.  

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve held my own hand and taken myself out to a nice dinner and a romantic movie, I would have about two dollars. Take the time out to catch up on your Facebook stalking, put a little more frozen yogurt in your cup, or set your homework aside for an hour or two to enjoy the epic season finale of Jersey Shore. Because if you don’t chill out, you’re going to burn out.

E.B. White said, “If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

Class of 2011, I don’t see why we can’t do both.  When we improve the world, it makes it a more enjoyable place for everyone to live.  

So when you plan your day, will you create, live and love—or merely exist?  Take the high road, graduates, because that’s where you’ll get the best tan.

I’d like to thank the Academy, my family: my mom, dad, sister friend Camille, Twila and Paul, my friends who are like my second family, especially The Tribe, and the Grossmont Foothill Players for all their love and support. I would be significantly less awesome without you, all of the amazing teachers at Grossmont High School, and most of all, the Class of 2011!  

As the great poet DJ Khaled once said: “We da best!”

Wasn’t it great to be young and a Foothiller?!