Hi everyone,
My name is Ava. I’d just like to start off by saying thank you to all of our families and friends for coming
tonight and those that can’t be here with us. I know I can speak for my class when I say that we couldn’t have done it without
your support. I’d personally like to thank my parents for supporting and believing in me all throughout school. My sister
Erica for being my best friend and teammate, putting up with me pretty much all day, every day. My family for coming to my
events and games to support me. My teachers and coaches for all of the time you put in to make me the student I am today. The administration and community for showing not only me, but all the students here at Southington their support and
encouragement. Lastly, to my fellow seniors, thank you for making the long school days bearable, the field trips so much
fun, and helping to make memories that will last a lifetime. I’d like to start off my speech with a little trip down
memory lane...
September 6, 2011- almost 13 years ago. When we became Wildcats and walked through the halls for the first time.
In December we had our first Christmas program. All dressed up, we came back to school to perform the Christmas
song we’d been practicing for weeks- but still didn’t know very well... I’m almost positive we sounded like a herd of screeching
cats. But hey, at least we were cute!
[August 2013] Start of 2nd grade. In elementary, some of our biggest worries were about keeping our behavior cards flipped on green and not the dreaded red. Or avoiding a check mark in our folders. Second grade was also the year where the
most competitive assignment ever given was introduced. The 60 second tests in math. It was a race to see who could get through all of the math facts first and get a prize out of the toy bin.
[August 2015] Fourth grade. I remember one fateful day on the playground that year. We were all running around having fun
when the whistle blew, and we all had to go inside early. Everyone was confused and upset- walking in and mumbling to
each other, wondering what had happened. That was when Seth chimed in saying... “yeah I think I broke Billy’s arm”. He was
joking. The next day, Billy walked into class in a sling. I seem to remember the story going something like, “well we were playing monkey in the middle. Seth was running backwards, tripped, and pretty much tackled Billy on accident and broke his arm.” We all learned the lesson that day that monkey in the middle was a competitive and dangerous game to play.
[August 23, 2017] First day of 6th grade. Our first day of middle school. We were all sooo excited to get to use lockers for
the first time- no more tiny cubbies in the classrooms. We could decorate them ourselves and keep them all neat and organized. Yeah, that definitely didn’t happen. I think this point can be
proven by our final locker cleanouts last week. We all kept turning to each other and saying- “ohh that’s where that paper
went”. Or, “I have no idea what this is”. The most impressive thing was probably Allie’s endless Dr. Pepper collection on her
top shelf. I don’t think there was a single day this year where I didn’t see Allie with a Dr. Pepper in hand.
[March 2020] When we shut down for COVID. We were all so excited for a couple weeks off of school but didn’t realize
we’d be off for the rest of the year and how different the next year would look.
[August 31, 2020]- our first day of high school- even if it looked different than we thought it would- masks, hand sanitizing, quarantine, and all. Every day we were greeted by Sally, the temperature screening machine, that would either
scold you to “please wear a mask” or take your temp and kindly say “thank you, have a nice day”... every time you walked past it. Over the next three years, we experienced so many moments that we’d been waiting for since we were little... high
school sports, homecoming, taking our last state test, prom. We went on field trips. I fondly remember one where Mrs. Crouch
took us to “learn how to make ice cream”. I don’t remember anything about that process- I think we were all more focused on
our treat at the end- a whole pint of ice cream to ourselves. August 23, 2023- our first day of senior year- just what
we’d all been waiting for. But the year that seemed like it would never come went by faster than it was supposed to.
Eating lunch at 10 am. Planning the coveted senior tailgate, homecoming week, planning what must have been the 8th senior
skip day of the year. I know one of my favorite weeks of the year was Senior Trip week. Sunday- Thursday in sunny Florida.
Come back to school on Friday for a field trip to Kent and then Prom on Saturday. That week was exhausting but it was so much fun. Florida was beautiful, we had so much fun exploring Universal together. The biggest fear of many on this trip was
avoiding sunburn. That would just be uncomfortable and inconvenient with Prom literally days away. The good news? No
one burnt. Well... except for Jacob. After about 3 hours at the water park he came up to me and, hey Ava, can I borrow some
sunscreen? Everyone took one look at him and said, “Jacob, we think it might be too late for that.” He was the color of a tomato at this point. But it all worked out in the end and I think we can all agree what a memorable week that was for us.
All the teachers told us that when we came back from Christmas break, the spring would fly by. But none of us really
believed them. We’ve had a countdown on Ms. Pickett’s board in English for months. 110 days until graduation. 100 days. We
celebrated when we hit double digits. Then everything happened so fast. Suddenly we were in the single digits and the days were going by in the blink of an eye. That brings us to today. May 23, 2024. The day we
graduate, we’re finally done. All of the lasts have come to an end- last first day of school, last time putting on a wildcat jersey,
last dance, last time hearing the bell ring, and the last time you hear me say “can I get a picture for yearbook?” (*pulls out
camera from podium and takes group shot looking out at the graduates). Today, we get our diplomas and get to walk across that stage. Writing this speech I found a quote from Dr. Seuss, “sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it
becomes a memory.” Reflecting back on these moments from the past 13 years, I’ve been reminded of many memories I know I will keep with me. I’m so glad I got to make these memories with all of you. I can’t wait to see the great things you’re all
going to do as we move on with our lives after today. I’ll leave you with this quote from author, Neil Gaiman “Now go, and
make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world
more interesting for your being here.” Thank you so much for your time, and congratulations!!