Sarah Kuta: On the amazing individuals in the Class of 2008

As graduation draws near, I thought I might be a little adventurous and shake things up a bit. Instead of the conventional column, I deduced that using the commencement address I wrote for Mr. Hamner's English class might pique the interest of a few readers.

Mrs. Lynn Cronk, president of the board of education; Dr. Stephen Joel, superintendent of schools; principal, Dr. Kenton B. Mann; faculty; parents; family; friends; and the Grand Island Senior High Graduating Class of 2008:

One day while vacuuming at my house, I began pondering what I would say if given the chance to give my opinion to the Class of 2008. You might wonder what vacuuming and a graduation schpiel have in common, but it's obvious: They're both loud and obnoxious, get the job done, and your dog definitely wouldn't want to listen to one for very long. The feature that sets this mini-lesson on life apart from a vacuum is that it doesn't suck (so punny).

But, seriously, what I came up here to say will probably sound like all the other graduation speeches you've ever heard. Dr. Joel, please wipe off the eyeballs painted on your eyelids so that it looks like you're awake even if you're dozing slightly. … You're not watching GITV, wake up.

The message I want to send isn't spectacularly pleasant or sugarcoated. What I really want to say is that, Class of 2008, to the bustling hodgepodge of world citizens, you're no different than any other group of students preparing for take off.

To every CEO, public official or "big cheese," this mass of students walking across the stage may seem like a dull rerun or a batch of newly "educated" statistics.

While this graduation ceremony may be no different from last year's, the fact of the matter is that the faces sitting in these seats change yearly.

Taking a deeper look past the forest and into the individual trees, you will find that every nameless blob of green suddenly begins to take the form of a powerful body, mind and soul. Call us each by our own name, instead of lumping us all together under one broad title, and you will find that the members of the Class of 2008 are probably the most astonishing and significant people you will ever have the privilege of meeting. Take the time to get to know any one of us, world, and you'll see what you've been missing all these years of relaxing in your chairs as diplomas and job-hopefuls file by.

We may also run into this concept of not being especially noticeable later in life. My mom has warned me that there will always be someone faster than me, prettier than me, more athletic than me, wittier than me -- whatever it is, someone is bound to be the master. If you're that person, well, we might need to have a little chat outside after this.

Perhaps you have something to ponder at present. In a nutshell, vacuuming is thought-provoking, the Class of 2008 will open your eyes and ears when given the chance, and believe it or not, you will have to work very hard at whatever it is you desire to excel at.

I'd like to leave you with a remark Sen. Barack Obama (no endorsement intended) made to the graduating class of 2006 at Northwestern University: "Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you choose to persevere."

Just like my comments, only he said it more eloquently: Life will be hard no matter how you slice it, but making big potatoes out of little spuds certainly won't make anything any easier.

Sarah Kuta is a senior at Grand Island Senior High. She will graduate Sunday.