Succeed in your own way

Hey everyone. After four years of early mornings, group projects, last minute homework and trying to figure out what the cafeteria food actually is. We made it. 

First of all, let’s take a second to appreciate this moment. Because whether you were a top of the class student, or just barely passed your classes. You’re here and that’s what matters.

 Now, I know graduation speeches are supposed to be inspiring and deep, so I thought about what I was going to say, and I kept hearing one question over and over again: “What’s next?” Are you going to college? What are you majoring in? What job do you want? It’s like there is a checklist we are all supposed to follow to be considered “successful.”

This might be a big stresser to a lot of people, and that’s understandable, it’s okay to not have everything planned out. Just try to succeed in small things and live your life how you want to. 

But I want to be real with all of you, success isn’t the same for everyone and it never should be. We’ve been told that success means a fancy job, a special title, and maybe a house with a white picket fence. But that fence has become more than just a building material—it’s a symbol of what we’ve been taught to chase, even if it’s not what we truly want. And hey, if that’s your dream, go for it. But that doesn’t have to be your dream. 

For some of us, success might be creating music. Or traveling. Or starting a small business. Or raising a family. Or just figuring it out one step at a time-and that’s completely okay.

The truth is, nobody has it all figured out. And ironically, the people who seem the most confident are often still trying to figure things out, too. There is no singular right way to live a good life. You’re allowed to change your mind, you’re allowed to fail, you’re allowed to take a different path than the one others expect of you. Take your time. Try new things. Be curious. Don’t let anyone pressure you into living a life that doesn’t feel like yours.

And whatever you do, don’t be scared of not being “successful enough.” Success isn’t a ladder we all climb the same way—it’s more like a map, and we each draw our own route. That’s a metaphor worth remembering.

So instead of trying to live someone else’s version of success, why not try and write your own? You’ve already made it through high school, you’ve proven you can show up, keep going and finish what you started. That is a pretty solid foundation for whatever comes next. Just do what makes you happy, don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, Find what succeeding means to you. 

Success isn’t just about trophies, grades or job titles. It’s about how you treat people. And how you handle your failures. How you keep going even when it’s hard. And how true you stay to the person you want to be. So take a breath, be proud of yourself today, and don’t stress about if the future doesn’t look like someone else’s.

This is your turn—your moment to shift the story and start your next chapter.

Make it your future.

Congratulations class of 2025. Let’s go write our own stories—with every messy, beautiful line.

Thank you.

“80% of success is just showing up” by Sean MacEntee is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Success!” by gfdnova1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.