A/N: A short speech I’m giving.  By the time you read it I’ll probably already have given it, so I guess I’ll hear after-the-fact whether it sucked or not. :) Hurrah!

Individual Worth

            A common saying holds that we are all, each one of us, unique.  Now I must admit that my favorite rendering of the proverb is the decidedly cynical, “Always remember that you are unique – just like everybody else.”  And it is true that we all have much in common.  Despite any differences in language, we all feel in the same tongue.  Love, grief, laugher, hope – the basic matter of life.

            And yet it is also obvious that we all have differences.  Different personality traits, different interests, and different abilities give us unique places in the world – and with them, different roles to play.  A large part of growing up has been finding our roles, finding our unique niches in the world.  We’ve come to realize that all of these niches are important.  All of us form some vital part of the world, however big or small it is.  We must respect each others’ uniqueness.

            But at the same time, we cannot forget that this principle applies to us, too – we form vital parts of the world, and must not shortchange ourselves.  Whatever our personalities, interests, and abilities, they will make an impact in some corner of the world, in someone’s life.  We must celebrate our own uniqueness.  Realize that to conform needlessly is to lose an important part of our own individuality and worth.  As we go on to the rest of our lives after high school, we must never forget the uniqueness that makes us, and all others, integral to the world’s future.