Emma Gerhold Smithsburg High School

Emma Gerhold

Smithsburg High School

Graduation Speech

06 June 2014

At Smithsburg we are taught to have a profound sense of leopard pride. As early as elementary school we are reminded to wear purple and cheer on our classmates. Smithsburg Youth Athletics reminds us that “leopards never change their spots” and our high school volleyball team reminds us that we are all “one town, one team, one dream.”And what could be more prideful than these puffy purple robes?

This leopard pride is what drives us to take spirit week more seriously than finals week and it is what fills the stands at football games with people. Leopard pride draws an entire mass of people to a bunch of parked tractors each fall for our Steam and Craft Show. Leopard pride is the sense of community that ties this town together and is what makes our class inside jokes so long lasting and our administration and teachers so determined to give us an excellent education. Our leopard spirit is the root of the pride we take in receiving our diplomas today. This sense of community has made us stronger as individuals, as a class, and as a town.

For each and every one of us, our surroundings will change in some way after today. We will all be leaving the high school behind us, and many of us will be moving away from Smithsburg entirely. With change comes adversity. That is a fact. We may have climbed the hill from the junior parking lot 180 times last year, but we have a much tougher mountain to climb in the future. Lying stretched before us is an infinite future. It extends beyond whatever plans we have made for our futures and beyond our wildest dreams. It will be a great ride, with fantastic and terrible plot twists where nothing turns out the way we expect but everything turns out alright in the end.

There are a lot of scary and exciting things about the expansive future laying before us, but one of the most profound changes occurring after today is the separation of us from our beloved community. After today you will meet people who don’t remember the 8^th grade assembly quote “I like to draw pictures” or Whitt’s famed advice “water off a duck.” People who know Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel” only as a top 40 country song rather than a requiem for a lost friend. There will be people who will not understand you; people who will not even acknowledge you. There will be times where opportunities are not given to you, but you must fight for them. Believe it or not, out there, you may encounter people who have never even heard of Drive Your Tractor to School Day. There will be times we all feel average; there will be times we all feel inferior. There will be times where life outside Smithsburg High School will feel huge, confusing and lonely.

With this infinite unknown before us, it is easy to hold on to what we’ve always known. To hold onto our soccer jerseys that we haven’t needed in months but don’t want to give up until our diplomas are jeopardized by the obligation. To pack photos of each other away to hang up in dorm rooms or store in wallets. That’s okay. It’s okay that we don’t want to lose Smithsburg. It’s okay that we don’t want to lose the pride of being a leopard. Community is important, and it is what has gotten us where we are today. Today marks a great accomplishment, and we must remember that we would not be here if it were not for the supportive community at Smithsburg High School and in the surrounding area.

But eventually our diploma is more important than the soccer jersey collecting dust. Pictures of high school friends are great, but we will leave space on our dorm room or barrack or office walls for new memories too. Life outside of Smithsburg will be exciting and satisfying and it is essential that we experience it. We will go out into the unknown grown-up world and we will find ourselves, just as Attiya has said. Don’t wander aimlessly. Know where you came from and where you want to go. Yes, there is a strong sense of community here. One we’ve grown up around, one that has been instilled in us. One that means everywhere we turn in our tiny world, there is someone to lend a helping hand. As our world expands further and further still, as we pursue our goals in life, we will be pulled away from this community. Maybe not forever, but it will happen. I promise. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean that sense of community is gone, for I encourage the graduates today to seek out a supportive community wherever you go, whether that be here in Smithsburg but no longer in the high school, whether that be Hagerstown or College Park, Baltimore or Salisbury, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, Colorado. Out in those new places where not everyone knows your name or knows what you want out of life, there are people who want to learn. True, we cannot always rely on our hometown community, not when we are hundreds of miles away or we feel like we are, but we can seek out a support group wherever we are going. We can build our own communities. We can restore our sense of community outside of Smithsburg High School.

We need leopard pride. We need community. We need people we can count on and trust. A sense of community is vital to our success and a sense of community is what makes success worthwhile. A community will support us in the toughest times. Our community will encourage us to dream bigger than we ever would ourselves. Our community will celebrate with us the momentous parts of our lives. Love the people around you and allow that love to be creative. Create yourself, create your community, create what it is that you want out of life.

Whatever it is that you are pursuing in life, pursue it enthusiastically and stay focused on it. Stay focused on faith, on academics, on relationships, on your career, on whatever it is that matters most to you. Don’t lose sight of your goals and whether you want to build a career, a family, or a fortune, strive for what you want with all your might. But determination cannot carry you alone, and determination should not equate to tunnel vision. Do not forget that. Don’t forget to look up. To look up from your feet trotting down whatever path your life takes you. They will always be underneath you, carrying you where you need to go. Instead, look around. Take in your surroundings and remember that the people around you help you accomplish your goals and make your goals worth striving for. Seek advice and offer it to others. Ask for help and don’t forget to help your little siblings, your underclassmen. Join a community organization. Call your mom and dad. Make a new friend. Hug an old friend. Develop a relationship with someone much older than you. Develop a relationship with someone much younger than you.

Smithsburg has instilled in us a sense of community. It has been handed to us, it was waiting for us. But a community can be built elsewhere as well. It is up to us. It can be constructed from the people around us, just as a metropolis can be built from stones scattered on the ground. Your community can be built upon your relationships, your family and friends, your mentors and peers. We can leave the comfort of Smithsburg High School and go and demonstrate to those who are so focused they think the people they pass are only people to dodge, what leopard pride really means. A high school education means something different to each and every one of us but at the root of our education in Smithsburg we have been taught how to depend on a community. That community is an integral part of everyone’s life. We can show this country and this world what community means.

Today we must start to truly appreciate our community. Rather than making today all about us, about our accomplishments and aspirations, take the time to acknowledge the people who have helped you. Thank your parents, your teachers, your grandparents, your siblings, your classmates. I would personally like to thank God for each and every moment he has blessed me with and thank my parents for being there for me in every moment of my life. I would also like to thank my sister, teachers, coaches and classmates for making me the person I am today and making my high school life a great one.

Congratulations Smithsburg Class of 2014, I am so proud to be a part of the community that is this class.