Paige+TB’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech



=Title of Speech= For Better or Worse =Text of Speech= Once upon a time, there was a young princess. She lived in a lovely castle with her parents, the

King and Queen. They ruled over their cul-de-sac and everything was wonderful and the world

was beautiful and the princess was happy. Then one day, the King and Queen brought their

daughter in to the throne room with some terrible news. Although they loved the princess very

much, they just didn’t love each other like they had before, and the poor King would be moving

out of the castle. Once upon a time, a family is torn apart at the seams.

Yes, folks, let’s talk about divorce.

Ok, so clearly my fictional royalty story wasn’t exactly artificial. I am in fact that princess. When

I was 3 years old, my parents decided to end their marriage. I still don’t know why. Ever since

then, my life has been on a strict schedule that I have been told I have no control over. Monday,

Tuesday, I’m at my dad’s; Wednesday, Thursday, I’m with my mom; every other Friday,

Saturday, Sunday alternate. Most families have multiple types of demons that create mischief.

For my kin, it seems like they just can’t stay married, as my family is filled with an abnormal

amount of divorces and remarriages. One of my uncles has been married three times, and I’m

fairly sure my grandpa has been four times.

In this fine history class, we learned that divorce became socially acceptable in the 60s, with the

rise of feminism and the hippies. While in the 1950’s most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes

were getting hitched as soon as they could, more and more couples were and are separating from

that person they promised to love for the rest of their life. It was part of a movement, part of a

newly given freedom of women who felt oppressed. This freedom has been taken for granted for

far too long now. A statistic says 50% of marriages end in divorce, so I know I’m not the only

one out there with parents who are not together.

Another statistic says that once someone gets remarried, their chances of another divorce

increase by 25%. And the third marriage is 10% more likely than that to end. What I don’t

understand is why don’t couples try harder on their first marriages, and then they won’t end up

drowning in this never ending cycle of hurt and despair?

You might be thinking, ok so why should I care? If people get divorced all the time, why

should anything change? As a child growing up embedded in divorce, I can tell you it is entirely

detrimental to the kids. Maybe it’s just me and my situation, but divorce forces the children

affected to mature faster than most kids, while their parents are allowed to act like petty children

towards each other. It’s like that movie Freaky Friday in real life. Most of the time, I have to

communicate between my parents, as though I have two telephone cans up to my ears and I

have to relay the message. This is extremely difficult, because not only am I busy doing all my

own average high schooler slash athlete activities, but I have to be my own parent and advocate

sometimes as well. Being the eldest, I get the pleasure of listening to my parents talk about each

other in, well, unpleasant tones. Also, part of the benefit of having married parents is that you,

their child, get a lifetime of observing what a healthy relationship looks like, allowing you to

fashion your own based on things you like or don’t like. Kids of divorces don’t get that luxury.

Although I tell them and everyone else that I don’t mind my situation because it is all I’ve ever

known, it really just sucks, and I would never wish it upon anyone else. And don’t get me wrong,

I love my parents and my family, but I wish they had made different decisions.

In the stereotypical marriage ceremony, they say some vows that legally bind them together;

the most typical states that one spouse will be there for the other “in good times and bad, in

sickness and in health, for the rest of their lives.” There is something beautiful and sacred about

a marriage, and people just don’t seem to take it seriously these days. People are just willing to

throw away something that might be a little broken. Hello. That’s what they invented super glue

for. I don’t care if it takes years of therapy to work out the kinks or problems, but couples should

not be allowed to end their marriages without a hard fight. I know I’m just a kid: I’ve never

been in a relationship, let alone a marriage, and you have a right to tell me I have no idea what

I’m talking about when I make these claim. But I am acquainted with passion. And love. And I

know that if you love something very much you would risk everything to make it perfect. When

I decide to get married, it will be once and it will be for life. That lucky man will be stuck with

me, for better or for worse.

In the America I grow up in, the America in which I will hopefully meet the love of my life and

maybe decide to raise a family, I want couples to take more pride in marriage. I want people to

go on more dates to think about whether they want to commit to a person instead of foolishly

diving head first into a solely passion driven marriage. I want people to believe in love and keep

their promises to each other. I want to see more cute old couples taking evening strolls in the

park, showing the world that they are still in love.

I really wanted to leave this speech, and this class, on a positive note. I believe in people. Given

the right information, the general population will make the correct decision. I am not here to

depress you with my life, in fact that is the last thing I want to do. In order to make a change, we

must face what is wrong with the world head on, and it may be the most terrifying thing you ever

have to do, but nothing will get done if everyone remains silent. I am trying to be an educator, a

teacher, so that we can learn from the mistakes of the past. We can make a difference, and can

ride the world of any more sad princesses and princes.

=Cite Your Sources= Some divorce statistic website...