Hooray I'm graduating from high school...and I'm salutatrian, and as such I must make a speech. What do you guys think of what I have?

Good Evening,

It feels like just yesterday I walked into the high school, a shy, awkward freshmen feverishly anticipating the next 4 years of my life. I stand before you today, more or less the same person. Culturally, awkwardness is seen as a generally undesirable trait. However, the past four years have taught me to embrace it. I was ecstatic to find the school newspaper listed, and I quote, “You’ve witnessed one of the many trips, bumbles, and falls of Andy Gorman,” as the seventh way you know you’re in the graduating class of 2011. And while you might not suffer from a life long case of being unable to remain upright in a chair, we will all have to face some awkward times out of our comfort zone in the years to come.

Everyone here has had to be in an uncomfortable situation where he or she was forced to do something or be somewhere that was outside of there normal comfort zone. We will no longer have the same group of friends we have grown up with since the age of five. We will no longer have teachers who give extra credit to students who bring in tissues for a last minute grade boost before the end of the quarter. We will no longer be able to go home for our mom’s delicious cooking for lunch.

Many of us are off to a world where we will be living in the same room with someone we’ve never met. We will have to impress strangers to try and get a career, rather than relying on the life guarding job you were guaranteed from the neighbor down the street. We will be taught by teachers who may not have time to learn your first and last name within the first week of school, let alone take the time to try and decipher your indecipherable handwriting. We will be given an unprecedented amount of freedom for the first time in our lives, and be expected to manage it like we have had it throughout out lives.

No matter where are futures take us, change is an inevitable future for everyone here. Get used to it. In order to get that promotion you are hoping for ten years from now, you can’t just perform as you have grown accustomed to. You must be willing to put forth the extra effort, or do something you feel uncomfortable doing in order to be noticed and advance your career.

So while awkwardness is typically viewed as a sign of weakness, I have come to view it is as a strength. Whether we like it or not, we are forced into situations that are uncomfortable, awkward, and outside our comfort zones. Being able to deal with these situations can shape the rest of our lives.

So as you leave here tonight, celebrating the end of a chapter in your life, and the beginning of an exciting one, remember to do something that scares you, and abuse your comfort zone a little bit. You might just be surprised by what happens. And to those of you who put money on seeing me perform a spectacular trip on my way up here: I regret to inform you that you will walk away empty handed.

So too cliche...to tired? What do you think Giantbomb?