Good evening guests, staff, family and friends, and fellow graduates.

George Bernard Shaw stated, If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange
these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an
idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. People have said
School will be over before you know it, but we never really think about the end of high school
because theres usually a project or assignment waiting to be finished, occupying our minds with
stress. Surprisingly, school has come to an end! We are at the point where we begin to
experience the rest of our lives, whether it means working directly in an industry, attending
university, or even travelling. Entering North Surrey, we used to exchange apples, and over the
years we have learned to exchange ideas. Weve given each other valuable knowledge which can
be taken with us on our separate paths. The community we have all grown to know and love will
be replaced by fresh experiences and strangers. But make no mistake, we will gain new
connections and find greater opportunities to test our abilities. Using the ideas we have learned
from each other, the ideas we have shared, we will bring our dreams into reality.
Whether its Calculus class where we solve equations or French class where we try to
integrate subjunctives into our paragraph, challenges can be overcome; they are tests to apply the
ideas weve learned. On this new journey challenges will escalate in difficulty, and sometimes it
feels right to give up, but have you searched for the solution? When we apply ideas to our lives,
we create results. Abu Bakr said Without knowledge action is useless and without action
knowledge is futile. Before the iPhone was created by Apple, there were very few touchscreen
phones which were both elegant and functional. Many were one or the other, but having both in
one device was only a dream. Steve Jobs used his ideas of design and simplicity to realize what
could only be dreamt of a decade ago. The iPhone, which had started out as a concept, came into
the world as a revolutionary product, the result of Jobss solution. Each challenge can be difficult
to handle; even if its obscure, a solution always exists.

Throughout high school, you probably found a faster way to get your homework done by
distributing the work among a few individuals; or saw an organization in need and decided to
volunteer. Albert Einstein thought of the theory of relativity, which is recognized globally as a

pillar of modern physics. Steve Jobs used his knowledge from a calligraphy class to create the
world's first typography displayed on a screen. In our current condition we may not be able to
compare ourselves with the minds of visionaries, but there is one aspect you and I share with
Jobs and Einstein right now, and that is the potential to create impact with our ideas. As children,
we accepted the ideas of others, following instructions on etiquette and receiving input on how
we should all become doctors and lawyers. We accepted ideas because we needed to absorb
knowledge, exhausting our parents with a constant stream of Why? and How? questions.
Those were the same inquiries we need to maintain, where the amount of ideas we dont know
now are far greater than the ones we didnt know in the past. Through our thirteen years of
schooling, we learned skills and gathered knowledge so we can be confident about creating our
own ideas. We arent children anymore. Everyone has the ability to say, Sorry Mom and Dad, I
dont want to be a doctor, and I think five years of pondering and advice-seeking has given me
the knowledge to answer to my true calling. I want to become a bird watcher. (JOKE)
Although our ideas may not be ground-breaking, they have enabled us to effect some
improvement within our own communities. In North Surrey, we have clubs like S.O.S.
attempting to create conscious social citizens and the Environmental Club convincing us to
actively compete in the Energy Cup, motivated by the ideas to save energy. We ended up being
the runner up for the entire district in the competition, demonstrating our ability to succeed at
what we put our minds to. Every idea has the ability to create some form of change, and we now
possess the power to make those ideas.
Its difficult to change the world around us. Marketing guru Seth Godin states When you
launch something new, you're almost certainly placing it into a section of the world that already
has expectations about how things like this are supposed to work. A university gives diplomas.
Restaurant waiters take tips. Software ought to have a 'save as' button. However, expectations
prevent innovation from flourishing within our society. When Flappy Bird was taken down from
the App Store, you didnt see other applications shoot to the top of the charts, clones of the
original did. People say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when companies are
stealing, borrowing, taking each others ideas, instead of taking the time to come up with their
own, we become locked in a society which values efficiency over innovation. When we become
more afraid of whether someones going to take the next million dollar idea away from us rather

than devote the time to create it, everyone loses because our world will never advance. In the
technology industry, innovative ideas are closely guarded corporate secrets, thoughts which have
the potential of becoming something great. Twitter was an idea forged from a daylong
brainstorming session, created with a desire to have a text messaging service to communicate
with a group of people. Its now the foundation of social networking, seen on CNN, brand
advertisements, and always next to the F for Facebook. The fact a desire could transform a social
service into a corporate identity emphasizes the power of an idea. Social networkings influence
on society has become enormous; it has become a part of our daily routines. As society
undergoes change, it becomes harder to innovate. Whats even more difficult is pinpointing the
ideas which matter. These ideas form legacies for future generations to learn from.
Of course, we couldnt have arrived at this point without the assistance of our parents, the
ones who have experienced more of life and are compassionate enough to have shared their
mistakes so we wont make the same ones. At times, we may not have been as gracious as we
could have been, but tonight we do appreciate their efforts and support, enabling us to realize our
full potential. While presents and hugs may show them our thanks, what would make them the
happiest is to see us realize our aspirations, and beyond that, to play a significant role in society.
When our parents arent available, our teachers are the adults who stay after school to provide
help on assigned work, projects, and even life consultation, listening to our problems and
offering advice. Contrary to popular belief, teachers do in fact have lives and we are grateful they
spent additional time caring about our futures while a stack of tests or homework was waiting to
be marked. They have taught me how to be critical of my work when I was writing essays in
English and punctual in arriving on time in French, and Im sure all of you can share similar
stories. While these figures were working tirelessly behind the scenes, our gratitude should also
go towards the administrative staff. They play a large part in our safety and make sure North
Surrey runs smoothly. Adults in our lives werent forced to teach us what they know; they chose
to accept the responsibility of educating future generations and hopefully we will live up to their
expectations.

Our society is defined by the age of ideas. As tonight we transition back into the real
world from the microcosm that is high school, the ideas we will present to others will define who

we are. All of us have the ability to make an impact on the world. Start by sharing apples, which
symbolize an act of kindness, and then slowly share ideas. You will be amazed by what people
will have to offer, and you might even be amazed at your own capabilities. Using what we have
learned, we are able to push our limits farther and farther away, allowing us to tackle the most
challenging of tasks with ease. Given the ideas weve shared with each other at North Surrey, all
of us have the capability to pursue success. I wish you all luck in your future endeavors. In the
words of Steve Jobs, remember to Stay hungry. Stay foolish. This night is ours, Class of 2014.
Thank you.