ΔUs/ΔTime

As my senior year of high school came to a close, I was selected to perform during North High School’s Class of 2023 Baccalaureate. For those who don’t know, a baccalaureate is a smaller commencement ceremony that is optional for the graduating seniors. There is no limit to guests, and unlike graduation the baccalaureate had musical performances.

My part in the ceremony was to give a speech, addressing the North High School Class of 2023 regarding our previous years leading up to our graduation from high school. As I brainstormed for ideas, I thought about my class’ time ranging from the elementary school days to the end of our high school. I then thought about a way to sum up these years: Change in the Class of 2023 over time. My brain went from that statement to delta, a triangle-like symbol that represents change in science and math. There was something about delta, it seemed so perfect for a speech. It gave my speech a deeper meaning, the reminder that our lives change over time and nothing can prevent that. Not only that, but as a student who loves STEM it felt like I inserted a part of myself into my speech’s meaning. Nothing else I brainstormed came close to the perfect theme of delta, and from there the rest was history

It’s been about two months since the day of baccalaureate, and people still compliment my speech. I guess there’s something about taking a simple message and twisting it in your own way. I felt like a celebrity coming out of the gymnasium after my speech, getting compliments left and right from the graduates and the adults in the bleachers. Since that day I will always know delta not only as a symbol of change, but as the way I remember my peers’ journey to becoming adults.