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Farewell - Senior Class Vice President Jacob Hug
Good evening, family, faculty and the members of the graduating class of 2018.
Well, we’ve finally made it.
Graduates, I know you are all eager to cross this stage diploma in hand so I will make my farewell short and sweet like our last four years here at Hauppauge High School. Short and sweet. As I sat down to write this speech, I asked myself, “How’s it going to make everyone feel as I prepared our final goodbye to a place and community we have known our entire lives?”
First of all, before I really get into my speech, I’d like to say congratulations. We did it. We made it through the good times and the bad. The highs and the lows. Making memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. As we say our final goodbyes, what will be your fondest memory? Will it be the first time you walked the halls as a scared freshman or as you dominated everything our senior year?
I know, personally, I’ll miss the little things, like the warm and welcoming “Hi” from Ms. Robins from all the way down the hall. Or the daily mints in Mr. Becher’s class. From Gym Volleyball and study abroad trips to Costa Rica, France, and Germany. I will miss every aspect of Hauppauge High School.
Season 9, episode 23 of the Office, Darryl Philbin says, “Every day, when I came in to work, all I wanted to do was leave. So, why in the world does it seem so hard to leave right now?”
Well Hauppauge Class of 2018, I think we are in a similar situation to what Darryl was in. So, for the rest of my time up here, I will be answering Darryl’s question which was, why in the world does it seem so hard to leave right now?
I don’t think a day of high school went by with me saying I want to go home, I can’t wait for summer, or can it just be the weekend already. So, as Darryl was saying, why is so hard to let go all of a sudden? And that’s simple. Because this is our family. Hauppauge is all we have ever known. Everyday we would come to school knowing that we would see our friends, teachers and the people of Hauppauge the next day. And now that that is not true, it scares us.
For the last 18 years of our lives, we have been surrounded by the same people and places. This community is and always will be our home. It is extremely hard and sad to say goodbye due to the fact that the people we have coexisted with for the last 18 years in this amazing town, we will no longer see every day as we branch off to start a new chapter in our lives. After seeing all of you every day throughout the years, it’s going to be hard leaving because you are my family, just as Jim, Pam, and Dwight were Darryl’s family too.
It is time to move on to bigger and greater things. Hauppauge has prepared us for everything that will be thrown our way. Although Hauppauge will always hold a large and special place in our hearts, it is time to move on and let go. Finally, as I question how we managed to survive these past years, I realize that we couldn’t have done it without each other. One important lesson that I learned here is to master my crafts. The iconic philosopher, Snoop Dog, once said, “If it’s flipping hamburgers at McDonalds or whatever it is you do, you have to master your craft.” And that’s what Hauppauge has taught us over the years. To strive for and achieve greatness. No Matter what it is we are doing, whether it is on the sports field, taking an AP or IB test, or performing in the musical, we’ve always been taught to strive for greatness. Because of what Hauppauge has taught us, we should strive to be the best. Whether you look to be an entrepreneur, a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, or an artist… keep doing what you’re doing.
So. my fellow graduates, we really started out from the bottom but, it looks like the whole team is here.
Congratulations to the Class of 2018.