PHOTOS: Capo Valley Christian's Commencement

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is salutorian Courtland Sherreitt's speech delivered at the ' commencement Friday night:

Thank you Mrs. Haney; fellow graduates, teachers, families and friends, welcome!

Well, it's finally here. Graduation. Twelve years, thousands of homework assignments, and hundreds of tests have all lead to this: The end. 

We've sat through our last lecture, taken our last test, cheered at our last football game and danced the night away at our last dance. This is it. This is our last chance to share the stage, before we go off on our own separate ways. Off of the top of my head, I can only think of eight of us who are even staying in California. And that's sad, but high school wasn't meant to last forever.

I've heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are lead, to those who help us grow, if we let them, and help them in return. Well I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you.

When I first found out that I was salutatorian, I was super excited! I mean, this means except for Sonia, I'm better than all of you! Do you know how awesome that feels? Of course you don’t, because you're not the salutatorian.  It feels awesome.

But then I realized I had to give a speech, which is not awesome. Some of you may not know this, but I really hate public speaking. Like, a lot. And you may say, "How is this possible? You're in plays all the time." Why yes, I am, in plays all the time! Thank you for noticing! Also this eyeliner is not here because I felt like wearing it, it's here because I had a show last night! And yeah, getting on stage during a show is fine because it's not Courtland who's acting like an idiot, its Tevye. When I'm up on stage giving a speech though, it's me who looks like an idiot. But then I realized, really, do I have any pride left? I mean, I wore a dress to school… so, I'm not exactly the model of embarrassment.

So after realizing that I really don't care what anybody says about me, I got to thinking about what I was going to say in this thing, and I began to wonder; what qualifies me to give this speech? I mean, I'm 18 years old! I'm an idiot.  We're all idiots! We are young, and we are stupid, and everything we think we know, just goes to show how little we actually do know. 

So I turned to the helpful packet of speeches Dr. Gaunt gave me from previous valedictorians and salutatorians. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that my opening thank you, was plagiarized from Hannah Schaller. Who stole it from Ashley Campos. Who had probably plagiarized it from someone before her, so there's that. But then I realized, these things were all written by 18-year-olds, too! So I started using my resources. AKA, Google. I'm not going to say I actually copied anything, but let's just say I won't be turning this into turnitin.com any time soon.

So, hello you long shots, you dark horse runners. Hairbrush singers and dashboard drummers. Hello you wild magnolias, just waiting to bloom. There's a little bit of all that, left inside of me and you. Thank God even crazy dreams come true. Soon, we will be going off to college to pursue those dreams. No pressure, but what you choose to do in college basically determines the rest of your life for you. So relax, have fun!

But know that if you screw up now, the rest of your life will suffer. As Mr. C would say, "Don't do anything stupid." Also, don't get married until you are over 25, you've graduated college, found a good job, and have a good Christian spouse. Thank you Mrs. Utley.

I'm sure we will always remember Mr. Weiss' lovely tests, where that one problem you can't figure out, is worth 50 points. So relax, it's no big deal! But seriously, for all these memories of Mr. Weiss torturing us, we do have to remember the many many hours he spends after school each day trying to help us through our homework. As mean as he tries to sound, he's actually super nice.

We've celebrated Mole Day with Mr. Easter, and International Adjective Day with Mrs. Macnider. We have sipped tea with Mr. Butler, while pondering the existence of magic. And we've all probably listened to the Perfect Con at least twenty times.  We've pulled all-nighters working on our government projects, and totally not procrastinating because that's just not something high school students do. We've all played Mad Gabs with Mrs. Haney and, at least three of us have spent long nights outlining AP U.S. chapters. Even though she assigns an ungodly amount of homework, I gotta admit that we really knew about U.S. history by the end of that class. And we've all had to make that terrifying march down to the Beck Lair.

You know, back when we were freshman, we were so quiet that Mr. McDowell had to draw names out of a shoebox to get us to talk. It was bad. But we somehow managed to grow out of our shells, and have some pretty top-notch debates in that class. He not only taught us more about our faith, but challenged us to defend it, which I'm sure will prove invaluable as we move on in our lives. To all of our teachers, I would like to say thank you for all of your hard work.

Of course, no speech would be complete without a giant thank you to all of our parents. They have provided encouragement, support, advice and, of course, money. Lots and lots of money. It is because of them that we are the strong, independent, intelligent and well adjusted adults we are today. Except for Kate and Casey and Giselle and Jessica, who are almost adults but not quite. 

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road: In a few short minutes, we will walk through those double doors and into a whole new world. We're at that awkward age where suddenly, everything we know and love begins to change. Many of us will be going away to college, moving out of the homes we've come to know over the past 18 years. We will be on our own, working, studying, cleaning and generally trying to figure out how to take care of ourselves. We're at that age where crying over a book is no longer cute. It's pathetic. Pretty soon, not having a job is going to mean we don't have food, and yes, some of us may work at McDonalds, but that's OK! Not everyone gets to be an astronaut when they grow up.

You know, it's kind of funny. CVCS has been such a big chapter in our lives, and now it's over. Our stories seem to have inadvertently collided — becoming intertwined for a short time — before eventually extricating themselves from one another and going on as they came. Yet not as they came, for they bear with them the memories and lessons accumulated from their time together. It seems this extrication is upon us. Some of us may return to CVCS many times, and some of us may never pass through its doors again, but a piece of CVCS will always be with us. 

In parting: Keep Smilin'. Keep Shinin'.  Knowing you can always count on me. For sure. That's what friends are for.