Gabrielle+P’s+Final+AmEx+Speech+2016


 * Thank You For the Support **

Sorry this speech is so last minute, but here we go.

First I would like to thank Foothill Technology High School for accepting me into this school because this is where I was able to grow as person and have such an amazing experience. I have always gone to school at Ventura Missionary since I was in Pre-K, so being here was a big change in scenery. Second, I would like to thank my fans out there who I might not know but I have an appreciation for them because they have supported me throughout my journey as a person in sports and school.

I would also like to thank my friends who have been there since the beginning of high school. There have been some times in school where I was really stressed out and had no hope for the future, but my friends were able to help me get rid of the stress and get me back on track. Especially during Junior year, I am pretty sure everyone was stressed because of APUSH, English, Trig, and my personal favorite stress-giver Physiology. No matter how many countless conversations about our problems with the weight of homework and tests, we were encouraging each other and praying that we actually got an A on the physio test or that C on the APUSH test. There was one week in particular this year that I thought was going to be great. However, I was sadly wrong. My birthday week this year was the worst week of Junior year. My soccer team lost in the semi-finals, I failed a math test, my eyes went crazy, and I was completely stressed. If it were not for my friends who constantly encouraged me, I would have broken down and cried and would have had no faith in myself. I am not going to name names because I consider all my classmates and peers to be my friends. So thank you friends!

Another group of people who were also supporting me throughout this year was my family. Though my family tends to think I am not that smart because I put my face too close to the oven and asked “can you even use the stove and the oven at the same time?”, they were still giving me encouragement when I needed it the most. So I am going to thank them individually. My sister Victoria helped me with getting ideas for college and helping me realize my potential that I have in life with a career or school. My brother Kristian tutored me in Trig/ Pre-Calc. Without him, I would not know what a derivative is or how to work a graphing calculator properly. Max, another brother, has encouraged me to take opportunities where I can learn and gain knowledge for the future. Also Max was my chauffeur throughout the year, so thank you for wasting gas on me. My oldest big brother Tim was busy a lot during the year, but I just want to thank him for being such a great role model to prove that you do not need perfect grades to get your dream job, but through hard work and patience you can achieve it. The two main people in my family deserve a lot of recognition. My parents. Mom and Dad without you, I literally would not be here today. Without you two always pushing me to do my best and waking at like 4 a.m. every other weekend to go to far away tournaments means a lot to me. I am glad my parents are always willing to give me support when I act like a brat or am grumpy. So thank you family!

Lastly, I want to thank my teachers. Thank you to my school teachers for never giving up on me even though I failed multiple tests or did not know an answer to a question. I was told throughout middle school that teachers in the future will not care for you, all they care about is you showing up to class. But they were wrong. My teachers this year gave me advice and support on essays, homework, test corrections, and life. As this year comes to a close, I look back and remember how at the beginning of the year was not confident in my school ability. My teachers were able to help me improve my writing or ability to process information which allowed my confidence in my ability to increase. To my coaches. Thank you for believing in my ability to reach new goals that I never knew that I could accomplish. Whether it was in track where I had a bad meet or in soccer where I played like complete crap, they knew what I was capable of and continued to see potential.

What I have realized throughout this speech is how much support really does matter in our lives. I am grateful that I have had a constant support group who have always been there for me no matter what. I have seen people who have had the opposite of me. They did not get to have encouragement from the ones they cared about the most. When people do not have support, they lose faith in himself and give up on life without knowing exactly why they this is happening to them. Support helps us continue to move on in life. I have grown up in America and have been given support and been supported. But I hope to see more support in America in the future. I want to see kids in elementary motivate each other to be the best 4-square player and become the Ace instead of trying to get each other out. I want to see students in high school encourage one another before an AP test or physiology test in hopes for an A. I want to see college students help each other with life in the midst of their last year of school ever. I want this idea of support to be spread throughout all the age groups so that encouragement will continue through each generation in the future. So I would like everyone to remember to support one another because it really does mean a lot. Once I again thank you to Foothill Technology high school, my fans, my friends, my family and my teachers for all the support I have received through the year and past years. I love you all! Thank you.