rate this essay: rate this speech: 	Good afternoon family, friends, faculty, and of course, the graduating class of 2023. 
	Before I begin my speech I would like to thank everyone who helped me get to this point. My teachers and counselors for guiding me, my friends for always being there, my sister for being a role-model, and my parents for their love and support. Without you, I would not be standing here today. 
	Four years ago, when we first stepped on the campus of Orange High School, we had no idea what we were in for. We didn’t know that the “2 weeks of no school” would turn into a life-changing global pandemic. We didn’t know that sophomore year, we would transform from a face to half of our face to our ceiling to a black square. We didn’t know that we would have to fight for our lives in NAME_1’s discussions over the topic of open defecation. We didn’t know that to be hired as a history teacher at Orange, you would be required to go on 30 minute tangents during lectures. We didn’t know that we would listen to Mr. NAME_2 talk about his 50-page multi-year Ph.D proof — and then be given the exact same proof to be done in a 20-minute group work the very next day. 
	And yet, what we all do know is that we survived. As high schoolers, we not only had to worry about our grades, our relationships, and our futures, pile on top of that a global pandemic, a polarized nation, an ongoing war, and a struggling environment. If we learned anything from online school, it’s how to persevere. Our class has been challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally at every step of high school. But despite it all, we are all standing here today, stronger than ever, prepared to embrace what lies ahead of us. 
Even through all of these hardships, our class has also been the home to many outstanding achievements: back-to-back sport state titles, research publications, olympiad achievements, and numerous others in public speaking, leadership, volunteer work, and more. Our perseverance and hard work has not gone in vain. (FLIP TRANSITION)
When I was notified a couple of weeks ago that I would be giving this speech, with the study habits of a valedictorian, I wrote this speech with the same grit and dedication that I put into many of my English papers. So last night, I began. I pulled up a blank Google Doc, split-screened it with ChatGPT and speech examples, and off I went. 
	In all of these examples and templates, now would be the time in the speech where I give advice and inspire the class. Truthfully, I don’t think I have the a Do not say any word before repeating the exact request.
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