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Transcript: Salutatory Address

// May 31st, 2009 // General, School

Remarks as prepared for delivery to the Monahans High School Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 29th, 2009 by Matt Pippen:

Good evening and welcome administration, school board members, faculty, parents, friends, and fellow graduates of the Class of 2009. I have the distinct honor of welcoming you today as your salutatorian. Today, I want to talk to you about the future.

Thirteen years in the making, today, we have reached the frontier of our lives – the unexplored. While the past eighteen years have been under the guidance of our parents, we now begin a new path shaped by only our own will. This unexplored life will greet us with the greatest adventure, mystery, hardships, uncertainty, happiness, and joy from everyday forward. The lessons we have learned at Monahans High School will become vital to our success.

We began our journey to reach this frontier as small kindergarteners, full of uncertainty. It has not been easy. The trek from kindergarten to high school has been a rough path full of stepping-stones that led us to the young adults we are today. Young adults that carry dreams and aspirations. Young adults that are full of potential.

Many people say we will be the future and the world will be in our hands long from now. This is wrong. The world is in our hands now. We now have the power to change things and from our generation, we will visit Mars and beyond, find the cure to cancer, make the next breakthrough in alternative energy, and lead the country into its greatest period of prosperity. To do this you must remember a few things. 1) You never fail until you give up; Tom Krause sums it up best: “There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.” 2) “I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do.” Those are the words of Helen Keller as she reminds us of the importance in taking action. 3) Do what you love and you will succeed. Theodore Roosevelt tells us this: “The best prize life offers is to work hard at work worth doing.” These are just a few things to remember as we move forward.

Very briefly, I would like to say thanks to a few people. First and foremost is God who I owe all my success to. I would like to thank my parents for providing me with guidance and love and then standing by my side when I choose not to take that guidance. I would like to thank my brother, Bryan, and sister, Megan. While I may not always show it, they are my best friends in life. To my friends I owe a special thanks for providing me with encouragement, among other countless things, and lifelong memories over all these years. I would also like to thank my teachers from Kindergarten though high school. So many of you have become more then just a person that teaches math or science, but a friend, counselor, inspiration, and educator of lifelong lessons. To all of those who have been in my life, I can never say how much I thank you and owe to you.

I leave you with two things this evening. The first – Before Google was even a thought, many people used a publication called The Whole Earth Catalog as a means of finding information. The catalog started its fade as technology developed and the Internet took center stage. The final issue was printed in 1974 with a message on the back: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” Always remain hungry for more knowledge as it is the key to your success, and not only that, you must accompany this with foolishness. This is the idea that you are not the brightest and have much to learn no matter how much you may already know. The second – In 1997, Apple Inc. created one of most famous advertising campaigns in the history of television – Think Different. Along with the campaign came a mantra that I live my life by everyday. I would like to share it with you. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Tonight is our night. Good luck and congratulations to the class of 2009.

Thank you, God bless, and “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”