Graduation speech

Everyone secretly thinks they’ve figured out what their life is going to be like, but what no one ever considers is that life has its own plans for you whether you like them or not. And so you’re left with a choice: You can either embrace the change and move forward, or fight it and be left behind.

Indeed, when I was younger I was a dreamer, like everyone, I dreamed of becoming a firefighter, a policeman, astronauts and even a superhero. Why? because to my mind, those people were the real heroes. They were saving people, fighting against criminals, going into space, combating flames. I wanted to be like them. Eventually, I grew up and realize that not everybody was intended to become a hero. I had to accept that I didn’t get stung by a spider and neither did I got enhanced by the government to become a powerful human war machine.

Then, came the time where you develop passions and interest in some aspects of life. For me, it was basketball. Basketball wasn’t just a sport, it was an art, one that must be mastered to succeed. For a few months in my life, I thought I would become the Michel-Ange of basketball. However, life said no; I did not come from Africa and I wasn’t 7” tall.

When entering high school, the idea of making a lot of money later in life became a mindset for me. Like most people of my age, I wanted to become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or a successful businessman. Yes, even if the guidance counsellor test was saying that I would become a gas station attendant. Financial success was way more important than being happy, it was clear to me: “Money makes you happy.” However, life still said no. I wasn’t good enough at school to enter those programs.

As I was finishing CEGEP, I still didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. Therefore, I ended up going in chiropractic. I instantly fell in love. I was hearing my friends complaining about their program and how difficult it was, but for me, everything seemed so easy since I was doing something I love to do.

Nowadays, I’m a chiropractor and I’m proud to say that I have the best job in the world. I’m proud of what I’ve done and accomplish, and regret nothing about the choices that I have made. Helping people on a daily basis, made me realize that a smile is a hundred times more valuable than money, even that today, when someone ask me what I’m doing in life I answer: “I make people happy”.

In short, I’ve been disappointed many times in my life. So many things that I dreamed of, never happened because life didn't want to. However, I never abandon and always kept pushing and searching further for some hope, and here I am today, living life to its fullest. I’ll conclude my speech by sharing with you 3 lessons that I’ve learned throughout my journey in life.

1. When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.
2. Life is about making an impact, not making an income.

And finally,

1. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

...