Adam Bornstein 29 June 2010 Live to Dream Valedictorian Address Abstract: I wrote and delivered this speech at my high

h school commencement after being nominated class valedictorian. It was our schools 10th anniversary and the graduating motto was Live to Dream.

Good Morning fellow students, faculty, friends, family, and esteemed guests. As we gather together today to acknowledge and celebrate our success and achievements it is my tremendous honour and privilege to speak to you on behalf such an incredible graduating class. Live to Dream is not only our class motto but also a philosophy that we have lived through our time here at Villanova and that will continue to inspire us in our future endeavours. It is a curious thing, to Live to Dream because a dream is defined as a succession of thoughts, images, sounds or emotions which the mind experiences during sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are still a mystery and not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. However it is not just something you do when you are sleeping either after a long night of excessive celebrating, or when you should be awake and paying attention to your math teacher. Dreaming is more than that. A dream is a fantastic idea, goal, or experience that you come up with in your mind and that you work every day to make a reality; in order to truly live your dream. Villanova has seen its fair share of dreams and dreamers over the course of its ten year history, but none of this history would have even been possible if it had not been for the two most audacious dreamers sitting behind me. They say that all of the most brilliant ideas sound crazy at first. I would have liked to have been there when Mr. Purdy and Mr. Paradiso were first explaining their dream to create a school. We have this dream to build one of the biggest and best catholic independent Augustinian schools in Canada. Were going to put it in the middle of a giant corn field, and hire a vice principal who will dress up like Brittany Spears. Our school will be so fantastic that Italians everywhere will want to send their kids here! But in all seriousness; they dreamed big and with a lot of hard work and support from an amazing community, that dream grew and began to take form. Over the course of our time at Villanova we have become that dream. As friends, as students, as athletes, as performers, and as Catholics we have been building this dream every step of the way, and our graduation marks that dream becoming a reality. It took two men to come up with the idea ten years ago, but it took an entire community to realize it. All of our achievements, experiences, and memories throughout high school that led to this day, have cemented the Dream of Villanova more and more. Today I reflect on when we were in grade nine and our athletic program which was still in its infancy brought home our first ever OFFSAA team championship and those who auditioned performed in the schools first ever musical production. Who could forget St. Donat, or marching over to the shrine month after month to celebrate mass as a school? Some of us played in bands or sang in choirs while others

would travel downtown to feed the homeless. Each experience over the years was us beginning to live the dream of Villanova; creating a school. In fact, this dream was becoming so large and growing so big that new dreams began to blossom from within it. Our senior football and basketball teams were dominated year after year by our rivals St. Mikes which created a dream for victory. The music department dreamt of creating new ensembles like jazz band and drum line. After a walk through the snow and rain to get to class in the annex or a long stare into that gigantic hole, we all dreamt of our new facility with a state of the art gym and library. And we achieved all those goals; however, these dreams were not realized on their own. Believe it or not these dreams were brought about by our total and complete sense of unity, truth, and love. These are the building blocks and tools that are used in order to bring any dream to fruition; whether it be here at Villanova or out in the real world in our future endeavours. UNITY: Just like with building Villanova, it may take one or two people to conceive an idea, but it takes the collective effort of a unified group to help the dream grow. At Villanova this unity was experienced three fold. First, our friends, our classmates, our locker buddies. We have been with each other every step of the way sharing laughs through the good times and love and support when things got rough. We have created so many memories together that will not be forgotten but cherished. It was an unbelievable experience to share four years developing relationships with friends that will last a lifetime. Secondly, our dear teachers. Not bad, you? Although sometimes we may have not seen eye to eye you have always been there for us. It is not the material that we will remember in fifty years but rather the way you were always there for us. Whether it be before school, during class, spare, lunch, or afterschool; your doors were always open. Not only have you helped to instil a strong sense of ethics and moral judgement in us but you have also left a lasting impression on us of true character. This relationship brought us closer and the inspiration and encouragement which you gave to us allowed us to achieve great things. We thank you. And thirdly, our parents: right from the start you have always been there for us; loving us unconditionally and forever providing for us. We thank you for giving us this opportunity, but also for driving us to those early rehearsals, and late practices. It is impossible to sum up in words how much you mean to us, but let our achievements and our future successes be a direct reflection of our love for you. We only want to make you proud, and we thank you so much. They say that if you want to achieve great things then you should surround yourself with great people. The unity of our friends, teachers, and parents has made this more than possible, and we love you for it. LOVE: Love is the fertile ground that helps a dream grow. Unfortunately for some us it will not be until we leave Villanova and are separated from our friends, teachers, families, and thrust into unfamiliar surroundings that we realize just how much we loved it here. Love is a tough concept to explain yet it is a powerful tool that flows through our spirits and has the ability to make things happen. It may not be something that you can always control but it moves us and exhilarates us as it changes our lives. Finally the truth: the truth is that all dreams require a lot of hard work. No matter what

field you choose to work in you will always be required to push the pencil. But when you are surrounded by a supportive cast, and doing what you love, the work is not so bad. If you are working on something that you love even half as much as you love watching Michael Morabito dance, then you will be more than fine. When unity and love come together the truth is that your dream will be fulfilled. Truth is reality, which can sometimes have cruel and unexpected ways of affecting our dreams. I remember when I was graduating from the eighth grade; alongside many of you. I had a dream of my own. I dreamt that I would be sitting here today, graduating from high school with my curly haired best friend. Unfortunately this dream did not come true, because he transferred schools and then Ryan was taken from us too soon. But I know that Ryan is watching us today and that he is prouder than ever. We must accept that for whatever reason sometimes dreams do not come true. There are forces at work in this world that are greater than our power to control them. But, we must not allow ourselves to be discouraged or to stop dreaming. For those who stop dreaming or allow themselves to settle for less than their potential live their lives in a rut. They do not have the courage to dream so they let themselves wither away in a false state of happiness. We mustnt do this. We must accept the good with the bad and face our adversity head on. Dreaming is a great risk to take which leaves us vulnerable but in doing so it also reveals our true selves. It is only by taking risks that we are able to learn, grow, and truly live. Do not be frightened by this challenge but go confidently, open, and ready, willing to work and experience; armed fearlessly with Unity, Truth, and Love. Through this process dreams are brought to reality, and let today be an example of that. This moment of Graduation is a rare moment in which we can all witness a dream come to fruition. Four long years of work all culminated in a single ceremony. It is truly a tremendous accomplishment. As we close one chapter in our lives let us remember all the life lessons, the unforgettable memories, the people, and the place that has made us who we are; outstanding young men and women. Take a moment and soak this in and remember this feeling. How nice it is to feel a dream coming true. This feeling is rare but it does not have to be. Yes, we have all dreamed, but now is the time when we must go out and live to dream. Now we set forth on our independent journeys to explore what the future may hold for us. As we leave the familiar hallways of Villanova and begin to forget the contents of our final exams, I encourage all of you to not stop here, but continue to dream so that you will live a life of great personal achievement. Whether you dream to make money, achieve fame, build a family of your own, or even find your purpose in this world. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives and I hope that we might all fill our lives with dreams that will continue to grow and give us cause. I pray that each night may be an opportunity for us to dream great dreams, and that each new day that dawns be an opportunity to reach those goals that youve set. I would like to leave you now with an excerpt from a movie entitled Waking Life:

So I ask you now: are you a dreamer? Because things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming is dead, that no one does it anymore. Its not dead. Its just its been forgotten. We can change all that by dreaming every day. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the

greatest problems its ever faced; ever. So whatever you do dont be idle. This is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting.

Class of 2010: Congratulations, we did it. Now Live to Dream.