2025.

The year that always seemed so far away. The year that we were always associated with because that would be the year we graduated high school. The year that is finally here. Congrats. We did it.

We have finally completed one of the biggest commitments of our time up until this point in our lives and I can 100% say we aced it. I stand here today with a deep sense of gratitude and pride — not just because I get to speak on behalf of our class, but because I’ve had the honor of growing up with all of you.

I’ve been walking the halls and going to school with some of y’all for 13 years now and I cannot believe our time together has come to a close. We have gotten the chance to sit in the same classrooms, shared the same headaches over homework and been assigned group projects that were anything but evenly divided.

But through it all, the good, the bad and the downright chaotic, we grew up together.

We’ve been there for each other during the hard times: the losses, the failures, the doubts we didn’t always say out loud. But we were also there to celebrate the victories — the passing grades we thought we’d never get, the wins on the field, the late-night texts that turned into lifelong inside jokes and the quiet moments of kindness that reminded us we weren’t alone.

While tonight marks an ending, it’s also a beginning. We now get to go onto the next stepping stone of life that at one time felt so far away and now is truly just around the corner.

The world beyond these walls is bigger and messier and more unpredictable than anything we’ve known, but I know we’re ready. Not because we know all the answers — trust me, we don’t — but because we’ve already proven we can get through anything, as long as we keep showing up for each other and ourselves.

No matter how far each and every one of us goes, we will always be connected through our time as a Battlin’ Billie.

I would like to thank my friends, my family and my community because my high school career would not have been possible without you. Y’all have supported me through thick and thin and are the best group of people I could’ve ever asked for.

Now, I was told to keep this speech short and sweet, so I will. On my final note, I just want to congratulate my classmates and thank our teachers for helping us get to this point, no matter how hard it must’ve been at times.

Here’s to the Class of 2025 — to everything we’ve been through and everything we’re about to become. Thank you and Hook’em.