Ryan

I hate to brag but I made the paper again. I'm really excited about it. Sorry my quote doesn't make sense. It wasn't the best response but I'm working on it.

http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?151+article+News+20090811184835151151013

So I hate to brag on myself but this is an article written about my graduation in the local newspaper. I was first in my class and it was really important to me so here it is. Hope you like it.
http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?151+article+News+20090606161831151151028

Well I've been holding a lot of this in for a long time. I usually tend to do that. Anyway I'm really worried about the direction of the US. It's scary to think that our government owns GM, parts of Chrysler, and a lot of the major banks. I've always tried to defend how great this country is and I still believe that it is great but the people that are running it are putting it into the ground. I guess I've always been against what people like Obama stand for, but lately I've realized that our problem is with both parties. In the words of Glenn Beck, "when considering which party to vote for it's like asking yourself do I want my three year old or my five year old to drive my car?" In other words both of them are going to wreck the car but the three year old will do it faster. I have always been a Republican and I have defended people like George Bush from all of the blame for the last eight years. But toward the end of his term, he no longer represented what I thought the Republican Party stood for. He helped generate the largest government expansion into the private sector in America's history. It seems as though both parties are starting to become the same things. Republicans are no longer Conservatives. They are slow Progressives. That's why I've started to feel really bad about the future of this country. Then, Obama comes in and continues with the government takeover and corruption. The guy that runs our Treasury didn't pay his taxes for over four years. Does that make any sense to anyone? That's like putting a child molester in charge of a nursery. Now since our economy is clearly fixed (yeah right), we are moving on to the "Public Option" for health care. Obama has been saying that this will never lead to a single payer health care system but think about it, who can go bankrupt faster, a private company or the government? Now I want to ask anyone who reads this and lives in a country with a single payer system to tell me why it is so great for the GOVERNMENT to run health care. They can't run anything right. For example, we are trillions of dollars in debt and we are about to pass Cap and Trade. This will kill our economy by giving the government the power to regulate green house gasses. This seems like a great idea but it's going to triple the power bill for every American family. However, the upside is that we will decrease the global temperature by .2 degrees. I am also tired of all of our politicians going around and apologizing to countries. I know we have made mistakes as a country but there is no need for an apology world tour. This is all I ask of my government: Please stay out of my life and follow our Constitution. Apparently Congress and the President like to watch things burn because they are burning our Constitution and country to the ground.

So Sunday night at the Red Jump Suit Apparatus concert I realized something in between Guardian Angel and Face Down as the girl that I have had a huge crush on for the last five years was standing in front of me. This girl means so much to me. I've stayed up to 3 A.M. texting her so many times that I can't count. I've listened and comforted her after she finally realized that the guy she was with was a bad person. I mean he cheated on her and did drugs behind her back. Even though I knew he had to go, I was still understanding. Now, she talks about how much she hates him but at the same time it seems like she doesn't want to get rid of him. Anyway back to my story, I realized that I could be everything for this girl the other night. I was at the concert and every time she would be in any kind of bad situation, I would make sure that nothing happened to her. I wanted to just reach out and hold her and never let go. The whole time I could tell that her mind was somewhere else. I realized then that no matter what I did, I would never be able to be the kind of person that she wants. I don't cheat on girls and I don't do drugs and lie about everything. Maybe I was clueless all along. Every time I would try to tell her how I feel, she would just think I was joking. So I went into the concert ready to tell her for real, but by the end I think I realize that it's just not going to happen. Maybe I'm crazy I don't know.

Family, Friends and Members of the Community. Thank you for coming here today to
witness the graduation of a class that has an unlimited about of potential that will one day
impact not only their community but the rest of the world as well. It is a very important
occasion and we are honored to have you here with us today. Although this day is suppose to
be about us, we realize that it is also important to you as well. None of us would be here today
without your love, support and encouragement. Personally, I couldn't have made it without the
love and support of my family, friends and teachers. I, as well as every other member of this
class, will be always be indebted to these people for shaping my future and encouraging me
along my path of life.

I would briefly like to talk about the significance of this day. Many people often believe that your high school graduation will tell a lot about what you do in life. Many people also believe that only a few people in each class will succeed in life. When I look at this class, I know that these statements are wrong. I know that everyone in this class has the potential to be anything they want to be in life. Many of us have made mistakes in high school, but we cannot allow them to plague us for the rest of our life. We have to realize that our high school years are now behind us and it's time to embark on a new journey. This new journey will be filled with new faces and new places. We cannot continue to live with the notions and predictions made by other people while we have been in high school. I believe that everyone can be successful in life if we have the desire to. In the end, it doesn't matter what you should've done, it's what you did in life. People don't care about what you could've done to impact our society, they care about what you did. I want everyone in this class to realize that it doesn't matter what number you graduate, we all have an equal amount of potential. Whether we realize it or not will determine who we are in life. When I think about people living up to their potential and not preconceived notions, I am reminded of two people. One of these people is Dave Thomas. Dave dropped out of school at an early age. He did not finish high school until he was a grown man. At the age of 12, he was fired from his first job at a local restaurant. Although he was lacking an education, Mr. Thomas vowed that he would never be fired again. Mr. Thomas was able to realize his inner potential and he went on to found Wendy's. Another person that I am reminded of when I think about the idea of potential is Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson is the only President without a college degree. Although many people believed that a person without a good education would never be President, Andrew Jackson proved them wrong. Both of these men demonstrated that it doesn't matter how much of an education you have, you have to realize the potential and fire inside of you. Don't get me wrong a person needs to be educated to succeed in life, but they also have to have the desire to be what they want to be in life. As you embark on this journey, many people will try to tell you what you should do with your life. Guidance Consolers, teachers, family, and friends will be there to push you in one direction. I would ask you to remember that there is only one person that has to live with the decisions that are made about your future. That person is you. You should listen to all possible options when you are confronted with a new path in life. Although everyone will try to push you in one direction, just remember that in the end it is your choice. You shouldn't worry if the path that you choose isn't the conventional path. Many people that have been successful in life don't follow the traditional path. Don't let anyone put you down just because you way is different. It really doesn't matter as long as you get to where you want to be at in life.

The final thing that I ask is that as you go along your path in life, try to find your purpose in life. Many people have spent their entire life trying to figure out why people are here. I'm not asking you to try to figure out the answer to that question. I have spent almost eighteen years trying to figure out my purpose in life. I have tried to figure out what my role is in this world. The only thing that I have learned so far in life is that everyone has a purpose in this world. Everyone was put here for a specific reason. I have not been able to figure out the exact reason that I am here, but I know that as my life goes on I will hopefully figure everything out. I sincerely hope that each of you will try to figure out your purpose in life as you grow older. You will go through ups and downs in your life but just know there is a purpose behind everything that happens to you no matter how large or small it seems at the time. Every event leads to another event. Every path leads to a different path. In the end, they will lead to your purpose in life. Remember that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. If there is one thing that I have learned it's that you should treasure everyday that you are on this Earth. If you do this, then your life will be precious and you will find success and happiness. My friends, there is a life out there waiting on you, go make it yours. Realize that there is an equal opportunity for every graduate in this gym to succeed and I hope that your success and even failures show you what your purpose is in life. Thank you for allowing me to call myself a member of the Class of 2009. I have enjoyed it and I will never forget it. Congratulations to everyone in this class. You deserve it. My God bless you as you go through life and good luck.