As the senior with the second-highest grade point average over four years, Andover’s Kristi Perreault had the honor of writing and delivering the salutatorian speech at MVHS graduation on June 15. Here is the text of her speech.
Our journey together began in the fall of our freshmen year here at Merrimack Valley High School. The year was 2008, and, looking back on these past years of high school, I think it is fair to say that we have seen, done, experienced, and lived through so much more than any of us here would have ever thought. The world around us is forever changing, and we are forever adapting, always trying to keep up.
Since we have stepped foot into high school, we have passed through style after style, trend after trend. Past generations have seen parachute pants, neon colors, and leather jackets. Well, our generation will be remembered for uggs, skinny jeans, yoga pants, and flannels. We have seen blankets grow to have sleeves, oddly resembling backwards robes but we decide to call them Snuggies. We have learned that rubber bands are not, in fact, brown and circular, but come in all different colors and can be shaped to look like giraffes, panda bears, houses, or even lamps. Some of our favorite pastimes have included dougie-ing, Bernie-ing, cone-ing, and planking, and the number one excuse for everything is “YOLO”.
When we started high school the concept of the iPhone seemed to be impossible to understand, but here we are asking Siri to do everything from calling our parents to giving us directions to Japan by bus. For the longest time the number one downloaded app was Words with Friends, because why play scrabble with an actual board and tiles when you can do it virtually and play random, made-up words until the game accepts one of them.
We have seen the end of Toy Story, Harry Potter, and, most importantly, Twilight. We have seen Disney classics shift to include some of our new favorites, Wall-E, Up, and, soon, Monster’s University. We have come to dread Fridays, because we know that someone, somewhere, will be singing Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, which you know will remain in your head for the rest of the day (Sorry).
Facebook is on a steady decline, soon to be completely replaced by Twitter and Instagram. The internet has been completely taken over by memes, to the point where Bad Luck Brian’s face is probably more recognizable than Abraham Lincoln’s, and grumpy cat is the most popular pet out there.
Instead of texting, we have switched over to Snapchat, where screenshots became the number one enemy, and the phrase “I’m gunna pop some tags” is almost as famous as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
But in all seriousness, it is important to look back, and see some of the major milestones we have been a part of. During our life time, we have seen the first African American President, something this country would have never thought to see. We have witnessed first-hand the impact that global warming has had, considering two weeks ago it was snowing. It is almost scary to see how quickly technology is advancing, and how easily our economy can collapse.
It’s important to remember that for every event, for every problem, for every solution in this world, there are people behind it. People who sat in chairs, sitting in caps and gowns, awaiting a diploma just as each and every one of you are. We have all been given the opportunity to invent or to create or to solve; but most importantly, we have all been given the opportunity to succeed.
It’s up to you to decide what you chose to do with this ability, keeping in mind that success does not mean being the best, or “winning” at everything; it means working hard to reach your aspirations; it means doing what makes you happy. I know every one of you have it in you, because if you didn’t you wouldn’t be here today. I mean, we did survive the end of the world – if we can do that, then well, we can do anything.
So, as this chapter in our life comes to a close, it is with great certainty that the journey ahead of us is ours for the taking. Here’s to our amazing, bright futures. Congratulations, Class of 2013. We did it!