Ladies and gentleman, I would like to start my speech with a little poem if I may.
An old man, going a lone highway
Came in the evening cold and grey
To a chasm vast, deep and wide
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim
That sullen stream held no fears for him
But he turned when he reached the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide
"Good friend," said a fellow pilgrim near
"You are wasting your strength in building here
Your journey will end with the ending day
You never again must pass this way
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"
The builder lifted his old grey head
"In the path I have come," he said
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be
He too must cross in the twilight dim
Good friend I am building the bridge for him!"
Dearest headmaster, M. Salim GEREIGE,
Dearest brothers, Georges ABSI, Emile AKIKI and Ildefonse SARKIS,
Dearest principles, teachers and guests,
Our beloved parents,
Fellow Graduates,
Good evening to you all.
Now, we the graduating students of 2008, are all here together, crossing the bridge that our parents, teachers and elders have built for us. It is now our turn to venture out into the world and build bridges of our own.
As we graduate from high-school, we will be making the transition into adulthood, and taking on us all the responsibilities that go with it. Soon, we will be the ones helping young people as they make their way through their growing years. We must realize though that, just as those who helped us get this far in our journey were examples for us, we will also be setting examples for the future generations, which makes it a little harder for us to bear.
We're spent 13 years in this institute, and we were the center of everything. As we are preparing for our departure, we would like to thank all of those who stood by us through the ups and the downs. Our parents and teachers will always be in our thoughts because they have impacted our lives in such enormous ways, we will forever be grateful.
Finally, I would personally like to thank you all for taking the time to share with us this great moment of joy, and to my fellow graduates I say: "Congratulations, we finally made it!"
Thank you.
Firas YASSINE, class of Life Sciences 2008.