Becoming Fearless

Good evening, everyone! Thank you Addy for your honest and heartfelt introduction.

Before I start my speech. I’d just like to set the record straight about rocket math. I’d just like to say, she passed me up by only one level. Let’s not be dramatic. It was basically a tie.

To my fellow classmates…we made it!

Thank you to everyone who helped us make it, including all those times we helped each other with homework answers or made a funny joke in class to make everyone smile. It was much appreciated.

We’ve come a long way since our freshman year, and, although most people will try to tell you that it went by “soooo fast” I’d have to disagree.

Although it dragged on a little bit, I’m glad I got to experience it with this class or “that class” as Maddi put it.

I’d like to start off by saying that I’m scared. I’m scared of screwing up this speech, scared of screwing up college, scared of screwing up my future. In the next couple of years, we will make decisions that affect the rest of our lives. There’s a lot of pressure riding on our shoulders to be adults and make our own decisions and do it right.

I don’t have any advice that will help fix all the problems that we will encounter in the coming years. I’m in no way qualified to help anyone make life decisions when I have to worry about my own life, but there are a few things that, should we remember them, I believe will help greatly. I would say the first one is the golden rule, but I like God’s version more. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This rule solves a lot of problems already. When we are commanded to love our neighbors, we aren’t told to love them in a friendly way or a romantic way, but in a way that puts their needs before our wants, and sometimes even our own needs. This one isn’t easy by any means. It’s hard to put someone before ourselves - especially when we don’t like them. You could make a huge difference in someone’s life and not even know it.

My second challenge is to learn when to say yes and when to say no. There are times in our lives when we will be asked to do something, and we should say no, but we end up saying yes.

This could be as innocent as pushing our responsibilities off in favor of having fun. I, myself, actually experienced this a couple of days ago when I had to choose between doing the homework that definitely should have been done a week before, or going on a fun trip, as my classmates can tell you. We had fun though, Addy, didn’t we? But in all seriousness, there are other times when you need to say yes to a break. The hardest part is knowing what time it is to say yes, and what time to say no. I think Solomon said it best in Ecclesiastes when he stated that there is a season for everything.

Sure, we might think that the season we’re in is a little too long, like when we’re in March and the snowstorms come, but, even with winter in Wisconsin, this, too, shall pass.

My third challenge comes in three parts. Love, care, and be real. Find people and things in your life that you love and care about. Let those things bring you joy. There is an infection in our society today that tells us caring too strongly about something is, in a way, pathetic and “uncool.” What we care about is what makes us who we are. Maybe, just maybe, if we all cared about things a little more, we could make this world a better place. If you find something that you’re passionate about, don’t hide behind something familiar, just because you’re scared of judgement. You never know how you might influence someone.

So, yes, I’m scared, but I’m not going to let fear, of all things, stop me from succeeding, and neither should you. I plan to live life to the fullest in the light of my Savior. So, my challenge to you is to love others, make good decisions, care a little too much, and be yourself. Thank you.

— Kiana Dallmann, valedictorian