JCTownsley.com

My final in Public Speaking today was to give a Ceremonial Speech. In typical Josh fashion I didn’t write the speech until 20 minutes before I left the house this morning. Just for fun, here’s the text of the speech. Sorry about the poor punctation, wrote it for speaking purposes =)

We are gathered here this morning to pay tribute; to honor; to remember; and to move forward with new strength. We are not here to honor a man or woman, or anything of that nature. We are here to pay tribute to our childhood, to innocence lost, to fond memories, and to lasting ideals.
The days of old are gone. No longer can we build sand castles, laughing and rolling as the waves crash over. No more races on the monkey bars, dangling high about the ground below. No more dancing in the rain, soaked to the bone with not a concern in the world.
We can only remember those days now with fond memories. The tides of change have overcome. To fight, resist, or struggle is useless. For we are in the strong grasp of adulthood, responsibility, and common sense.
Yet we can take our childhood, and hold on to all that is good. We can move forward in this world, not as adults, but as something new. We can move forward in this world , as a child would, with playfulness, lightheartedness, humor, a sense of purpose, and with an open heart.
We are here today to pay tribute to something that has passed away. Our childhood is no longer. We will never be able to regain all that we had as children. Yet we can take those memories, those ideals, that innocence, and move on in this world, with a new steadfastness, a new committment.
They may call us adults now, they may give us responsibilities, they may ask us to use common sense, but we will always have the child inside of us.
Let us move on now, for we have graduated from our childhood, into the playground of life.