Foothill High: Bakersfield.com

Three Kinds of People

Welcome graduates of 2007,

It has been said that there are three kinds of people you meet in your life: one for a reason, one for a season, and one for a lifetime. Although these people are different, they have one thing in common; they help shape and mold us into the people we grow to become in our lives. They are responsible for the kinds of people we are today.

           The first kind of person is the person you meet for a reason. This is that person you see walking through the hallway, or down the street. You smile at this person as they pass simply because it is the polite thing to do, but soon after, they fall into the back of your mind, and they are out of your life forever.

           The next kind of person is the person you meet for a season. This is that person you sat next to on the first day of school, and made friends with just because you didn’t want to be alone. They are not a true friend, but merely and acquaintance with whom you are able to laugh and joke with for those forty-five minutes of everyday. You may make memories with this person, however, just like the first, the memories of this person quickly fade, and just as quickly as you introduced yourself, you cannot recall this person’s name.

           Then, there is the person you meet for a life-time. This is that person who you cannot imagine your life without; this person is in every memory that crosses your mind, and the one you see when you think about the future. When you look back, you realize that this person has always been there and you hope that they always will be. We all have these kind of people in our lives, and unlike the first two, this kind of person will always be apart of us.

Throughout our high school careers, we have all met these three kinds of people. We’ve met those who we know, and we’ve also met those who we hope we never forget. Here at Foothill, we have formed bonds that will last far beyond this day. No matter where life takes us, whether to college, or into the work place, let us enter life not forgetting these three people. Although we may forget many faces, we will always remember the ones we meet for a life-time. These are our closest friends, our teachers, and our coaches, but most of all, these kinds of people are our parents. Their non-stop support has put us where we are today. They continued to believe in us, even when we doubted ourselves. We are here today for them, and we are today here because of them. A simple “thank you” can not begin to explain how grateful I am for everything my parents have done for me, and I know all of you feel the same way. The guidance and support of our parents has made us able to be a part something that is a true privilege, graduation.

When we look back on our high school experiences, every memory we take with us involves these kinds of people. We owe everything to them, because when we think of high school, their faces and the time we spent together are what we are going to remember the most. They are what make high school one of the most memorable experiences in your life. With their help, we have each been able to find our own unique personalities, because they have made us the people we are.

I now leave you with this: as we each venture off into the world, always remember that, wherever we go, we will never be alone. We will always have our parents, and we will always have our friends, to be there when we need them the most. For some, this is the last time we will see many of the people around us, but for others, this is just the beginning of life-long friendships. As we all walk out of here as Foothill graduates, remember those who we meet for a reason and remember those who we meet for a season, but always keep by your side those who we have met for a lifetime.

                                                                                    -Thank You

Ruben Jimenez gave this speech at the Foothill High School graduation. He plans to attend UC Berkeley and major in English.

Congratulations class of 2007 we made it

I'm sure we can all remember the first day of school. For many of us, high school seemed enormous compared to junior high. What made it even scarier for me was not having all of my old friends with me. I was once again the little fish in the ocean. To add to my worries, I feared that I would get stuffed into the trash can. Which I was told by my three older brothers was what happened to new freshman. With all of this going on in my mind, I felt so lost and confused. I was constantly hoping that I would fit in and would make new friends.

Once I actually started high school, I realized that there were many times that I embarrassed myself and I’m sure all of you can say the same thing. I was constantly being reminded of how much I didn't know. For example, when I first went into Mr. Bell’s classroom thinking that the United States was actually a state. At first, being in the classroom and around many smart students made me question my intelligence at first. However, Once I got into my classes I began to love being here. The teachers were extremely funny. I can still remember first meeting Mr. Bolstad. He constantly made us laugh with many of his descriptive jokes. And then there were things I will never comprehend such as why people would begin clapping in Mrs. Richmond’s class for no reason. That’s how it is with many of the teachers here. At first you are intimidated, but once you were in their classroom and become familiar with them you began to feel at ease and realize your fears are unjustified.

Getting used to this new environment was probably difficult for many of us. Everyone handled it a little differently. At first some kids tried to act tougher than they really were while others hid from the crowd. However, it was the start of something new and we were just trying to find our position at Foothill. Before starting Foothill High, we were all young, immature, silly kids; we thought everything was funny and clung onto our own specific cliques. For many of us this still may be true, but we have grown and are not as immature as we once were. Once we got the feel of high school, we started to grow as young adults. Each year we experienced new things and met someone new. We learned how to associate with many people and we became close to the people in our classes.

Meeting my classmates and spending my class time with them was very fun and exciting, Because of them I was able to get through all of my classes especially calculus we all know how hard that could get..

In the last four years at Foothill I have developed close friendships as I’m sure all of you have. I have met people who have made a big impact on my life. They were there for me when I needed them most. I know all of you can say the same thing whether it was your boyfriend/girlfriend, friends or teachers. Every one of us has met someone who has helped us get through these past years, someone who has helped us find out who we really were. But All of these experiences are now just memories because today is the day we graduate from high school.

Graduation, that’s an important accomplishment. We have all worked so hard to be here today and it is our time to show our teachers and parents what they have molded us into. It is now up to us to make them proud and to take everything we have learned and experienced here at Foothill High and put it to use. This is our last day to be shielded; tomorrow we step into the real world as adults. We will have to take matters into our own hands, rather than having our teachers there to tell us what to do, to give us a second and even third chance. We now must rely on ourselves rather than others.

And so, just like 4 years ago, We are back to square one. We will no longer be seniors, but scared freshmen once again. We will step into the real world as young, inexperienced adolescents. We will go through the same steps, facing The fear of being thrown into, not a trash can, but something much more scary and permanent. We might fail. But hopefully, we will succeed. Plus, we will experience new things, meet new people, and make new memories.

For most of us this will be the last day we see each other. We will all go our own separate ways. It is hard to believe that just last week we were all together in class gossiping about the latest break-up or mishap and In a year we probably won’t even remember half of those people’s names. All we will have left are goofy pictures and signed yearbooks. And even though Nothing can replace our memories of being here, we can not be afraid to move on . It was once said that today is not the end, just the end of a special chapter in the book of our lives. Tomorrow we begin a new chapter.

I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do. whether it is a job or college, we are all facing the same challenges. And, I know that we will always remember the special moments we shared. Today will be the last day we’ll all be together as a school, as a class, as the class of 2007 so enjoy today and once again good luck on your exciting new chapter.

Congratulations class of 2007 we made it.

Stephanie Hernandez gave this speech at the Foothill High School graduation. She plans to attend UC Santa Barbara to major in theater.

Congratulations!!!! Joel Perez

Good Luck, Joel. You have touched everyone who has had the honor to know you. Your family is proud of you and wishes you the best. Foothill High should be honored to have had you as a student.

Joel is graduating from Foothill High and will be continuing his education at Fresno State University. Great Job from your Mom, brothers, sisters and family.