毕业生演讲是毕业典礼上最重要的环节，它包含着毕业生们对高中生活的总结，更包含着对未来新生活的展望。

每年的毕业季，HFI都会向全体毕业生征集“毕业生代表演讲稿”，每一篇演讲稿都宛若夜空群星，既有着毕业生们共同的回忆，又闪烁着属于作者本人的思想之光。

群星自当闪耀，我们将部分2024届毕业生演讲稿收集整理，以供大家一窥HFI学子们的风采。

2024届毕业典礼致辞

2024届毕业生 苏心乔

录取院校：康奈尔大学

亲爱的老师、家长、工作人员，以及2024届的同学们，

下午好。我是Mia苏心乔，很荣幸能站在这里。

祝贺2024届的同学们！这是我们所有人梦寐以求的日子。我们终于可以告别HFI，开始新的旅程。

在这个特别的日子里，我想和大家分享一个关于告别的故事。

进入HFI是对过去的告别。在抵达奥翔楼之前，我们来自截然不同的背景。然而，共同的目标将我们汇聚在这里。我们抛开了传统的K-12教育体系，对一些人来说，甚至是告别了家乡和家人，踏入奥祥楼，就像朱迪第一次踏入动物城一样——这里，一切似乎都崭新而美好。有了一个时髦的英文名字，我们希望成为崭新的自己并尝试一切可能。

告别可以是令人兴奋的。我们被HFI消失的手机限制和灵活的选课政策所震撼。与此同时，我们的自尊心也因进入每所名校的雄心而得到提升。站在大厅的橙白相间录取榜单前，我们都有着同样的想法：嗯... 哈佛还是麻省理工？这是一个问题。

告别也可以令人沮丧。我依然记得欧洲历史期末考前通宵后头疼的感觉，那时我不停重复了海姆勒先生的“准备好榨干脑汁了吗？”一百遍。我也记得Matt令人生畏的自动扣分，还有Delia红色封面的SAT单词书。在无数个彻夜未眠的夜晚，我一直问自己，为什么要离开舒适区，转学到HFI？我本可以完全不被托福和SAT所折磨！

那么，究竟什么才真正定义告别呢？

告别是对记忆的回顾。回首这一刻，我们才突然意识到自己已然走过的旅程。作为历年PSAT成绩最低的班级（根据Wendy的说法），我们，2024届的同学们，被贴上了许多标签。然而，我们拒绝让挫折定义我们。我们在艺术周通过独特的拼贴作品展现自己的身份。我们通过VOICE比赛找到了自己的声音。我们通过慈善马拉松为有需要的儿童贡献了一份力量。虽然我们可能暂时无法改变世界，比如停止正在进行的以色列-巴勒斯坦冲突，但我们为使我们的社区变得更美好感到自豪。

这些是我们作为一个年级与集体事件交织在一起的记忆。个人而言，我们的记忆更多地与校园相互交织。站在讲学厅里，我经常感到“似曾相识”，仿佛回到了在HFI的第一天——当时Sheldon校长介绍了新的校服政策。我想这里的每个人都曾被Sheldon校长或Joseph在走廊上抓到没穿校服。我们见证了校园的改变：Delia的大教室被分成了小房间供九年级学生使用。一个囚犯抢走了AP人类地理课室（里面有一张穿囚犯服装的Mr. Cullen的照片）。但我们也见证了延续：Mama依然在这里，它可能在HFI的时间比这里的任何人都长。卤肉饭依然每天中午欢迎我们，哪怕经受了一次次停电的影响。不只是我们见证了校园上的所有变化和延续，这里的每个角落也塑造了我们的故事。从我们学习ATC和AVC的教室，到我们在周五下午玩飞盘的运动场，hfi已然成为了我们青春的一部分。当我们踏上未知之旅时，我们将带着这些共同的记忆前行。

告别也是对未来的不确定性。我们将离开熟悉的人、熟悉的地方和熟悉的日常。我们将前往陌生的地方：异国他乡、不同的文化和多元化的群体。我们不知道自己未来身在何方——无论是在纽约钢铁丛林里的繁华办公室，还是在挪威密林中的宁静小屋——我们知道的是，无论我们走到哪里，马特的话语将永远在我们脑海中回响：“任何英雄远征的终点都是自我发现。”我们珍惜过去，但仍选择踏上下一个神秘的探索。这就是告别美丽的地方。

最重要的是，告别是对人际关系的感激。这是一个表达感谢之机，一个解决误解之机，一个修复关系之机。正是在这些离别的时刻，我们才意识到我们建立的联系的深度和价值。曾经困扰我们的事情现在可能已不再重要。我们仍有机会给我们的高中之旅画上一个快乐而充实的结局，比如在今晚的舞会上邀请某人一起自拍。

我很荣幸能成为毕业生代表，借此机会，我想表达我最衷心的感激之情。

感谢所有的家长。感谢你们为我们开拓眼界，支持我们幼稚的决定。感谢你们支付大学申请费，即使学校可能甚至不会接受我们。

感谢所有的老师。在完成所有AP考试后，哪个亨利最终成为了国王，或者在使用chi-square test前要满足哪个条件，可能对我们来说已不再重要。真正重要的是你们传授给我们的激情、批判性思维、创新精神、勇气和韧性。

感谢所有的升学指导。感谢你们忍受我们的拖延症，在截止时间前最后一刻尽心尽力地编辑我们的大学申请材料。

感谢所有的工作人员。你们的努力是学校日常运作的基石。

感谢我最亲爱的室友们。我知道世界上没有人能像你们一样容忍我的疯狂作息时间。

感谢我的朋友们。你们是我在高中期间最伟大的礼物。而你们也应该感谢我，因为我一直耐心倾听你们没完没了的恋爱脑故事。

最后，感谢我的同学们，感谢你们给予我们的记忆、欢笑和团结，这些定义了我们在一起的时光。我们为赢得家长、老师、朋友，甚至暗恋对象的认可而努力奋斗。但今天，让我们为自己在高中求学的坚持和勇气而自豪，为我们在生命中开启全新篇章而庆祝。

当我们告别并迎接无尽的机遇时，让我们记住，结束往往是伪装下的新开始。让我们庆祝我们珍视的记忆，塑造我们的友谊，以及将指引我们走向各自道路的教训。

祝贺2024届毕业生们——愿你们的未来光明，梦想勇敢，心灵永远与我们曾经称之为家的地方相连。三、二、一，加油~~

Dear teachers, parents, staff, and fellow graduates of the class of 2024,

Good afternoon. I am Mia Xinqiao Su and it is my honor to be here.

Congratulations class of 2024! This is the day we have all dreamed of. We can finally say goodbye to HFI and start on our next journey.

On this special day, I would like to share a story about farewell.

Entering HFI is a farewell to the past. Before arrival at Aoxiang Building, we came from different backgrounds. However, the shared goal joined us together here. We left behind the traditional K-12 education system, for some, even leaving hometowns and families, and stepped into Aoxiang Building like Judy first visited Zootopia – Here, everything seemed brand new. Picking a fancy English name, we wished to be a new self and try everything.

Farewell can be exciting. We are dazed by disappearing phone restrictions and flexible course selection policy at HFI. At the same time, our ego is boosted by the ambition to get into every prestigious university. Pausing in front of the orange-and-white board in the lobby, we had the same thought: Hmmmm… Harvard or MIT? This is a question.

Farewell can also be frustrating (hashtag complexity). I still remember the headache after staying up all night before Euro History finals, repeating Mr. Heimler’s “you ready to get your brain cows milked” a hundred times. I remember Matt’s daunting automatic deduction and Delia’s red-covered hot words for SAT as well. On countless sleepless nights, I kept asking myself, why did I leave my comfort zone and transfer to HFI? I could have not been tortured by TOEFL and SAT at all!

So, what truly defines farewell?

Farewell is the reflection on memories. Looking back at this point, we suddenly realized how far we have gone. As the class with the lowest PSAT score ever (according to Wendy), we, the class of 2024, have been associated with numerous stigmas. However, we refuse to let the setback define us. We created unique collages that depict our identity during Fine Arts Week. We found our voice through VOICE competition. We contributed our small parts to children in need through Charity Marathon. Although we may not be capable of changing the world at this time, such as stopping the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, we take pride in making our community a better place.

These are our memories interwoven with collective events as a class. Individually, our memories are more intertwined with the campus. Standing in the lecture hall, I often experience a sense of Deja Vu, taking me back to my first day at HFI -- when principal Sheldon introduced a new uniform policy. I guess everyone here has been caught out of uniforms by either Principal Sheldon or Principal Joseph in the corridor. We witness change on campus: Delia’s king-sized classroom has been split into tiny rooms for Y9 students. A prisoner took away the AP Human Geography classroom (with a photo featuring Mr. Cullen in prisoner’s costume). But we also witness consistency: Mama is still here, probably having been at HFI longer than anyone here. Luroufan still welcomes us every noon, surviving the aftermath of a power outage. Not only have we witnessed all the changes and consistencies on campus, but every corner here has also shaped our stories. From the classrooms where we study the difference between ATC and AVC, to the sport fields where we play Frisbee on Friday afternoons, the school has become part of our youth. When we venture into the unknown, we will carry the shared memories.

Farewell is also the uncertainty of the future. We are leaving familiarity: people we meet every day, places we go every day, and routines we follow every day. We are heading to unfamiliarity: foreign lands, different cultures, and diverse communities. We do not know where we will be in the future -- whether in a decent office in the concrete jungle of New York City, or a tranquil cabin in the dense forest of Norway – What we do know is that, no matter where we go, Matt’s words will always echo in our minds: “the ultimate goal of any hero’s quest is self-discovery.” We cherish the past but still choose to embark on the next mysterious exploration. This is the beauty of farewell.

Most importantly, farewell is the appreciation for relationships. This is an opportunity to say thank you which could have been said, to resolve the misunderstanding which could have been resolved, and to repair the relationship which could have been repaired. It is in these moments of departure that we realize the depth of the connections we have forged and the value attached to them. Things that once bothered us may not hold weight anymore. We still have the chance to draw a happy and fulfilling conclusion to our high school journey, such as inviting someone to take a selfie at tonight’s prom.

Given the privilege of being the valedictorian, I want to use this opportunity to express my most heartfelt gratitude.

Thank you to all the parents. Thank you for opening up the world for us and supporting our naïve decisions. Thank you for paying the college application fee, even though the schools might not even accept us.

Thank you to all the teachers. The question of which Henry became the king at last, or which conditions should be met before using the chi-square test, may not be important to us anymore after completing all the AP exams. What truly matters are the spirit of passion, critical thinking, innovation, courage, and resilience that you imparted to us.

Thank you to all the counselors. Thank you for enduring our procrastination and meticulously editing our college application materials despite the approaching deadline.

Thank you to all the staff. Your efforts are the cornerstone of the school’s daily function.

Thank you my dearest roomies. I know nobody in the world can tolerate my crazy sleeping schedule like you do.

Thank you my friends. You have been the greatest gift throughout my high school years. And you should thank me too, for being a patient listener to your endless lovesick stories.

Finally, thank you my fellow graduates for the memories, the laughter, and the companionship that have defined our time together. We have worked so hard to win recognition from parents, teachers, friends, or maybe crushes. But today, let us recognize ourselves for surviving high school and opening up a brand new chapter in our lives.

As we say our farewells and embrace the endless opportunities, let us remember that endings are also beginnings in disguise. Let us celebrate the memories we hold dear, the friendships that have shaped us, and the lessons that will guide us on our respective paths.

Congratulations to the Class of 2024—may your futures be bright, your dreams be bold, and your hearts forever connected to the place we once called home. 3, 2, 1, chiayou~~