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Our senior speaker, Stephen Lieberman (with the beads around his neck),
surrounded by his family - Dad, Sister, Brother, and Mom. Stephen is now a
student at George Washington University.
Thank you, Fred, and thank you all for coming. My fellow students, it has been a pleasure to live and to learn with you. You have enabled me to discover wondrous things about myself, and before I head off to George Washington University, I wish to pass on what I have learned to each and every one of you. Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to properly thank the people to whom I owe so much. To my teachers - I fully believe that living together, as one community, has benefited everyone that chose to partake in it. Getting to know each other outside of the teacher-student relationship has enhanced the effectiveness of your teaching, and your unbelievable effort this year deserves the highest of accolades.
I took the time to thank my family at last night's senior dinner - in part because of Fred's warnings about keeping my speech here today at a maximum of five minutes. Let me sum up what I said there - that my parents have done an unbelievably good job in raising me, that I am proud to be a brother to such wonderful siblings, and that my grandparents have taught me the importance of being there for each other. They have instilled in me a set of moral guidelines that I am truly thankful to have. Above all, they taught me that no matter what you surround yourself with on the outside, when you boil it all down, the most important thing in this world is family.
My fellow students, I believe that as the year has gone by, and we have been preoccupied with our studies, we have lost something - our collective purpose. This is not merely a place for parents to send their NLD kids. This is no asylum, or repository of the anti-social. This is a place where students must come to adapt to the world around them. My fellow students, the hard truth is this - the world will not change for you. Once you leave here, no one will care if you have NLD, much less have even heard of it. NLD is not a crutch for you to lean on. It is not there to enable you to make excuses for yourself. The overall goal of Franklin Academy, as I see it, is not merely to educate students with NLD, but, more importantly, to educate students about NLD.
This is a place for us to learn about ourselves - our strengths, our shortcomings, and how to adapt to the world around us. We must recognize that Franklin Academy is a gift that cannot be idly squandered. To those I leave behind, you must recognize that this place is here to answer the lingering question of "Why?" Why do people look at me this way? Why don't I understand these things? I can say to you today, with all honesty, the resources are here for you to take advantage of. But you have to make the commitment, you have to take the first step, and you have to walk the path.
There is a famous saying, dating from ancient Greece, which was inscribed in gold letters at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. It is "know thyself." This, I believe, is the cornerstone of human knowledge. Before you can go off on your own, into the vastness of our world, you must understand whom you are. Why is this so important? It is important because the only thing you can control, the only thing you have influence over, is yourself. If you know yourself, you will be in control of your life, and you will be ready to face all of the uncertainties in your future. The ultimate lesson I have learned at Franklin Academy has been to know myself, and that has laid the unshakable foundation for my future success. Allow yourselves to examine your successes and your failures, and like the mythical phoenix, our school's mascot, you shall rise from the ashes, born again. Thank you.
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