Saturday, June 19, 2021 | The Newnan Times-Herald — 1C
East Coweta High School
Student honors 2021
• East Coweta scholarships • Photos of top ten seniors • A letter from Principal Allen
East Coweta High School Student Honors 2021 Published by The Newnan Times-Herald Saturday, June 19, 2021
Photos courtesy of East Coweta and Rebecca Leftwich PHOTO BY REBECCA LEFTWICH
Honors night photos are available for purchase online at photos.times-herald.com
ECHS Valedictorian and Salutatorian Sun Moon & Minji Kang
Overcoming key to achievement BY SUN MOON
ECHS Valedictorian
All this for what? BY MINJI KANG
ECHS Salutatorian
G ood evening, f r iends, family, f acu lty a nd st a f f, d istin g u ished guests, and fellow graduates. Before I begin, I would just like to take a moment to thank the people who brought me into this perilous world of struggle, also known as my beloved parents. Jokes aside, Mom, thank you for putting up with me at my worst and always rooting for me and believing the best in me. Dad, thank you for working night and day, weekdays and weekends, to help me get to where I am today and for being someone who I look up to each day of my life. I ca n’t forget about my sister. Although I never said it, thank you for steering me away from stupid decisions whether it be academic or my terrible fashion sense. To the teachers of ECHS, thank you for truly caring about our success and going beyond the call of duty in your dedication to our students here. I know that I would not be standing here today without the continued support and encouragement from our teachers and staff. To all of my friends, thank you for making me look forward to waking up every morning. You guys mean the world to me, and I’ll never forget the memories that we made. Thou g h I ’ve re c eive d m a ny requests for shout-outs and namedropping, you guys know who you are and that I love you all. L astly, a huge shout out to the CDC for making this joint graduation possible and saving us the headache of deciding who was worthy of our five graduation tickets.
Just when I thought that writing the valedictorian speech was the last big thing I had to worry about, I wrecked my dad’s car in an epic train vs. car situation in late April. What a sudden turn of events, right? I won’t get into the details of how I got stuck on the train tracks, but I can say that my inattentivene s s a nd m i nd le s sne s s were the culprits. Getting stuck on the rails, trying to push the car out, calling the police, and the alarm blaring that the train was coming all took place in the span of only three minutes, giving me no time to think or stop the train. Thankfully, no lives were harmed and the only things that were dama ge d were my dad’s c a r a nd my ego, but I guess you could say that I’m on the same level with Superman on stopping trains, so that’s something. However, m isfor tu ne s d id not seem to stop with me. I cracked my brand-new Macbook screen and lost my airpods, thanks again to my carelessness. Although it’s been only a month since all of this happened, it seems as though it happened forever ago. I’ve learned that no matter how bad of a situation we put ourselves into, it will pass, and we will learn. At the time something bad happens we have no idea how to get th rou g h it , but then we do. We will look back and laugh at those memories because they will seem so insignificant. The reason that I shared the story of my most recent big mistake is because I believe how we handle
failures and struggles is what ultimately makes or breaks our lives. The failures in business are what brings better understanding of what needs to be done to be successful. The injuries in the gym are what e ve nt u a l ly le a d s a p e r s on t o a proper form and bigger pecs. The struggles of honest confrontation are what create respect and trust in relationships. Experiencing struggles is what allows for courage and perseverance to grow. The point is that achieving anything worthwhile is won by overcoming the associated unpleasant experiences. Cl a s s of 2 021, I w i sh I c ou ld say that life is going to go smo oth ly, but a s I got to k now better tha n others, there w ill a lways be tra in s a lon g the way. Just in the last four years, we survived and made it despite COVID19 and its Google Meet high school, the tor nado, hor r if y ing Tik Tok trends and drama, and cryptocurr enc y f r en z y. To wh at ever m ay come next, we will make the most out of it. It is an honor to graduate with such an amazing group of peers. I know that every one of us has what it t a kes to accomplish our goals because we have always gotten back up stronger and will continue to do so in the future. Best of luck to all of you in whatever your next step may be and keep in mind that only out of suffering do the strongest souls emerge. And for one last time, “If no one’s told you this morning, I love you and I always will.”
“Success is not key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” These are the words of the German philosopher Albert Schweitzer. Which path have you decided to take on for your future? Too of ten, people become overly focused on material gain, equating future money with future happiness and choosing their path for the f uture based on monetar y prospects. It's com monplace for i nd iv idua ls to be merely complacent with getting a GPA they consider high or going to a renowned college without asking themselves: “All this for what?” Of course, living through those dreadf ul yea rs of a ll-nighters a nd piles of homework have seemed like an eternity for all of us... and for some parents as well. We often forget what we are really passionate about and strive for some abstract version of “success” and neglect to realize that we must define success for ourselves. I urge you to define success on your own terms. To look for fulfilment and validation internally, rather than externally. To recognize how malleable the world is in your hands, and both that your journey and destination are solely your own. Take pride in the things you have earned and be humble in regards to the things you’ve been given. Finally, to all the graduates sitting in front of me, I hope that as we end this chapter of our lives, we are also ready to st a r t a new jour ney. I believe we can take our opportunity in the future to inspire, motivate, and overcome to change the world. Good luck to you all, and congratulations, Class of 2021!
DETERMINED. RESILIENT. UNFORGETTABLE.
Congratulations 2021
GRADUATES!
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