Aloha

Hello, my name is Megan for those of you who don't know me. And I

want to apologize because my speech is more of a thank you letter to

those who helped me through these 4 years.

Ok, so I tried to make this as long as possible. So bear with me, a

quote that I have tried to always live my life by is "Do not go where

the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

by Ralph Waldo Emerson, I believe this quote really explains my high

school experience. Many of you may not know this because I am a

completely different person but growing up I was not the best student

I got in a lot of fights I never really went to school and I was always

getting in trouble.

My freshman year I had come to Merced high for a semester and

then I dropped out. But the summer of freshman year I really sat back

and looked at how my life was taking a turn for the worst. I had never

been in an environment were anyone around me had achieved

anything in life. And Most people in my life never expected anything

more from me. At that very moment, I told myself I would do

everything I possibly could to turn my life around for the better. That
summer I was adopted into a wonderful family. I was now surrounded

by people who achieved so much in life and worked hard for every

single thing they had. A family that pushed me even harder to achieve

every goal I set for myself. I now have a family that loves me and

wants the best for me. With these two new parents came these two

new siblings. And later on a third. With this new family came more

encouragement and motivation. I now have three younger siblings

looking up to me and I can't disappoint them or my parents. So now I

had to start my high school years over at Sequoia and I know Sequoia

has a really bad reputation. But not all of us were hoodrats. Most of

them were but not all of us. I had to go to make up credits. Sequoia

really changed my life some of the teachers there really cared about

us students and really pushed us to do better. Specifically, Mr.

Dickey, many of you may know him as he is a cap lab teacher here

now at Merced high. But before he was my teacher here he was my

teacher at Sequoia and he has always done everything he can to

encourage his students to do their best and he will always give you

the best and most honest advice even if it is too truthful you don't

wanna hear it. I really wanna thank him for always caring enough to
 push me in the right direction. At Sequoia I also met two girls who

became my best friends Daphne Serrano and Crystal Cardoza some

of you may know them but anyways ever since we went to Sequoia

together these girls have been my rock we have spent almost every

day since sophomore year together even when we got sent back to

regular schools daphne switched schools to be here at Merced high

with me and crystal and even though these girls sometimes annoy the

shit out of me I wouldn't have wanted to spend these years with

anyone else. My High school experience was so fun and even with all

the pressures of school, these girls made every day a great one. I

know everyone says After high school everyone goes there separate

ways and In about 2 weeks we will all be starting the next chapter in

our lives. But I really hope these girls are more than just extras, I

hope they are some of the main characters in my story of life.

Coming back to Merced high was a big step in my life. I was

really scared I didn't know if I could keep up. And then I met Ms.

Jester…. I met Ms. Jester at the beginning of my junior year when I

was placed in her class. And from the very beginning Ms. Jester seen

something in me, I had never seen in myself. she helped my transition

to Merced high be the best it could be she put so much time and effort

into helping me keep up on my work She pushed me to really be a

better student and she really made school a place I would want to be

at she really influenced me and opened my eyes to the future I want. I

can say with everything in me Dawn jester is who inspired me to

become a teacher. I would like to thank her for everything she has

ever done and for her being the best teacher I have ever come across.

I also want to thank some of my other friends who really made my

days brighter with all the laughter they brought to school each day

made getting up at 6 am every day worth it. These girls are Monique

Cassie Jamie and of course Crystal and Daphne. These girls made

every day a new memory and even tho they are not all in this class I

want them all to know I love them and will always be here for them.

Most of my greatest memories are with these girls and i will forever

cherish them. One thing I really regret about my high school years

was not taking it seriously in the beginning and not attending more

things like football games and dances. By the time I learned how fun

they all were it was already over. But besides that, I don't really regret

much because without all the wrong choices I made I would have
never learned what right choices to make. I am now going to graduate

from high school and attend college And I know now how involved I

want to be and I won't miss out on any more experiences. I would

also like to thank all my other teachers for Really just doing their jobs

I know many of us take teachers for granted but You guys make

bigger impacts in our lives then even we know. I believe a symbol that

can represent me is a crown and I know that may sound conceded

But when I say a crown I don't mean vanity I mean A crown represents

strength determination and the ability to make hard decisions and

overcome obstacles in a path I have never taken before. A crown

means leadership and with that, I am leading my own life in my own

direction. And as we all take this next step into our completely

different future I would love to wish you all the best of luck I have

really enjoyed my last couple years here at Merced high And thank

you all for being apart of that.