A Message to High School Graduates

Hey guys! Thanks for joining me on my blog today :)

Because I graduated as a Valedictorian, I was given the opportunity to speak at my high school graduation and I wanted to relay this message to my blog viewers as well... 

Let me start by telling you that I have had goals of being Valedictorian for as long as I can remember. I used to need that title to tell me that I had worked hard enough and that I was good enough. It became an entrapment for me. I put school above all other areas in my life (even before family and God), it was my highest priority. I was a slave to that because I thought that was what defined me. 

However, no longer am I a slave to that because, as much as I am honored to have been one of the Valedictorians of my graduating class, I don't need this title to prove my success; I don’t need this title to define who I am because I am secure in who I am through God; and the reason I'm telling you all of this is because I know, for certain, that there are others reading this that are slaves to what they think defines them... 

Graduates, we are going off to college, off to the workforce, out into the world and we need to be secure in who we are. 

Graduates, I want you to remember the grades don't define you... the sports don't define you... the relationships don't define you... the appearance doesn’t define you... and graduates your past does not define you. 

Friends, all of these things are temporary. 

You can chase the titles, you can chase the clothes and makeup, you can chase the money, but guys these things don't last. They won’t last. These things won’t sustain you. Don't let the world define your success because it will leave you empty. 

If you want security in who you are… don’t let the world define you. 

Let God define you. 

Bible verses relating to this topic:

As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

     -2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

     -Matthew 6:33 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

     -2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

     -Romans 12:1-2 ESV