Dear Class of 2024,

I had the awesome opportunity on May 24 to speak to 6th graders at their graduation ceremony. It's so crazy to think I was once their age. My mother wanted me to post a copy of my speech because she felt it was relevant to not only 6th graders, but everyone. I hope you enjoy and find wisdom in the words spoken. Thank you so much!

Hello, my name is Hailey Deeds and as of Sunday, I am a graduate from Park Hill South High School. Six years ago, I was in your shoes. And I remember it quite clearly.

6th grade me!

Back then, I looked a little different. I had a bob shaped haircut that went to my chin, I wore the same pink fuzzy jacket every day, I wore baggy basketball shorts to compliment my fancy flare tops, thick glasses to go with my half up ponytail, and then to add on to that, socks and sandals. I wasn’t exactly someone you’d call popular and if you looked at me in 6th grade, you probably wouldn’t guess that I would accomplish what I did in middle school and high school.

I learned a lot in 6th grade and probably had some of the same experiences you did. I was on the Knights team and like you probably are, I was biased that my team was the absolute best team. 6th grade was the first time I got a C in science and I realized I should start caring about grades and that I was bad at science. I participated in the Plaza lip dub and I still sometimes watch it and try to find myself. My 6th grade class was the first class to experience the luxury of the new or I guess now old, cafeteria. In 6th grade, I got an Instagram and my first post was a picture of a potato. I’ve upped my content however since then. I got a blackout in World History in all the languages and I thought I was so cool. I had my first “relationship” in 6th grade, but I think I ran away from him every time he’d try to walk with me. I was on Yearbook staff and I still cringe whenever I see all the mistakes I made. I also had my first break on stage during the school play as I played a narrator in Wooing Wed Widing Hood.

These were some of my good memories of 6th grade, but there were some pretty devastating failures too. Don’t get me wrong.

I remember quite clearly wanting to join Student Council and J Crew. J Crew mainly because journalism has been part of my life since I was able to pick up a pen and could write my name. Student Council partly because I wanted to serve my school and partly because I thought everyone was doing it. But, I didn’t make it in the Student Council in 6th grade and I didn’t make it into J Crew either. This however didn’t mean didn’t mean I didn’t have a future in them later.

All of you who are sitting here right now have your own personal story and path of life. Some of you might have had a really great school experience and some of you might have had to struggle a little bit. Regardless of where you’ve been in the past, it doesn’t have to dictate where you’re going in the future. Every day you get a new chance to start over and when you fall, you can get back up. Entering Lakeview and Congress is the perfect opportunity to follow this advice.

There is a quote that says, “Successful people are not those who do not fail. They are those who fail more than anyone and simply refuse to accept it as the conclusion.” Failure is not necessarily a bad thing; failure can be a way of learning.

When we talk about failure, there are two ways to interpret it. The first way can be defined by showing up to something and not trying, or sometimes not showing up at all. That type of failure doesn’t teach us anything and certainly isn’t good for us. The kind of failure I’m talking about today is when in pursuit of a goal we try our absolute best, and despite all our efforts, the outcome isn’t what we expected. The success comes from what you choose to do after. You can choose to grow and keep moving forward or choose to dwell and let that hinder you from trying again.

I know this sounds crazy. But many people are scared of failure. We live in a generation where we are afraid of the word, “no” and the negative connotation surrounding failure as a whole. This leads a lot of people to take the easy route. It wasn’t until much later I learned this, but something I wish someone told me when I was your age is that I’d much rather try and fail than fail to try.

There are many famous people who failed their way to success. Some we are very familiar with. JK Rowling experienced rejection by nearly ten different publishers when she wrote her first book in the popular Harry Potter series. Walt Disney was left bankrupt after his first cartoon series in the Kansas City Star. An editor fired Walt because he believed Walt was unimaginative. Albert Einstein was called mentally challenged, couldn’t speak fluently until age 12, and was expelled from high school at age 16 for failing several subjects.

Now, I’m not telling you to drop out of school and fail all your classes. I’m actually telling you the complete opposite. I’m telling you if you give it your all and keep trying even when it seems hard, you will accomplish more than you thought you were capable of. If you never try, you’ll never know.

This brings me back to the fact I didn’t make it into Student Council in 6th grade. I let that hinder me from trying in 7th grade and I might’ve let that hinder me in 8th grade if I wasn’t for the people who motivated me.

My best friend pushed me to apply for Student Council in 8th grade and I found myself the day before applications were due trying to start and finish mine within the same day. I was shocked when I found out I was one of the selected members. My advisors then pushed me to apply my freshman year and again, I was shocked when I opened my letter that read, “Congratulations.”

If I let my failure of not getting in to Student Council in 6th define me, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do all the cool things I did in high school. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be Director of Special Education. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet Senator Roy Blunt and speak to him about Special Olympics in our school. I wouldn’t have been able to host Districts and State Convention. I wouldn’t have learned how much the SPED department means to me. And I wouldn’t have met some of the coolest people to ever walk the halls of Park Hill South. But I did do all these things and it’s all thanks to the fact I got back up and tried again. I didn’t let a failure define me and neither should you. 

Even in high school, failure played a big part in me finding myself. My 11th grade year, I ran for Student Body Secretary and shortly after election week was over, I found out that I lost. I was hurt, yes, but I knew I had to keep moving forward. I had been a part of my school’s newspaper staff since 10th grade year and I thought it was about time to apply my abilities more in this area. This year, I was Editor-in-Chief of my school newspaper and learned that I really love writing. I always knew I did, but it hit me that this is something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. If it weren’t for the failure of not getting voted Secretary, I don’t know if I would feel the same way about journalism as I do now. Sometimes, our failures redirect us to a path we never considered taking and sometimes that path is a much better fit for our success. Because I decided to treat journalism has more of my niche, I have received National, State, and Regional Rankings in my writing and I will be studying communications in the fall of this year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

I am thankful for the people who have pushed me to seek out my divine potential and the cool thing is, is that I’m continually seeking and growing from their motivation. Find the people who make you better and keep them close.

If you think Plaza teachers are cool, just you wait. You’re in for a real treat. Although, I went to Lakeview I think I speak on behalf of both Congress and Lakeview when I say the teachers there are phenomenal and care so much for the students. High School too. These were the teachers that shaped me into who I am now.

If you’re not already, seek the worth in yourself. Set goals that push you try your best and seek improvement. Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take towards reaching your goal. A goal should scare you a little, and excite you a lot.

When I was a freshman, I was diagnosed with lupus which is a inflammatory disease that hindered me from moving any part of my body. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t lift my pencil, I couldn’t even get out of bed without aching all over. This meant I couldn’t go to school for a semester and even worse; I had to miss out on my first year on the cross country team. I was devastated because all I wanted to do was run.

I was stuck in this condition for quite a few months, until I finally got the clear that I could run in track and the following year, cross country. Like any sport, you can’t just go one day sitting on the couch doing nothing to full on running a 5k. You have to practice and set mini goals for yourself along the way.

Some goals included never stopping during a workout and finishing all the way through. Other goals were for my safety, realizing when I needed to focus on my personal health and take a break.

By setting goals, I was able to run my first race to the best of my abilities and I not only made my coach, family, and friends proud, but I also made myself.

Throughout life, you’re going to experience a journey unique to who you are. Sometimes you might fail or experience hardships, but instead of viewing these moments as brick walls that are immovable, view them as bumps in the road and find new routes to take that is more worth your while. I hope with each of these failures, you find what you’re most passionate about and you don’t let them stop you from trying again. You have another 6 years in the Park Hill School District, so make the most of it and create a journey that you’ll love. Thank you for letting me speak to you today and I can’t wait to see what you guys are doing in the future. Good luck, Class of 2024. You’ve already made me a proud alumni. Thank you.

A Glow Up!