Maisha Thomas’s Graduation Speech
Maisha Thomas’s Graduation Speech
Two years ago, I left work for personal health reasons, and never went back. I was house-bound, and both physically and emotionally stuck, and it seemed as though it would be impossible to resume my life. I continued to feel immobilized for some time.
One year ago, I started to feel better and became restless with my situation, but I wasn’t sure of myself. My confidence had all but disappeared. Then, one day, this opportunity almost literally fell into my lap.
I wasn’t sure about it. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I wasn’t sure I could finish once I’d started. All I knew was that it was time for me to take a chance. I was nervous and afraid, but I had to try.
Fast forward to this moment - to all of us in this room right now. One year later, I’m standing here, not just with you, but before you, speaking to all of you, and my experience CityLab Academy has helped give me that strength and confidence, as have all of the friends I’ve made through the year we spent together.
Finishing this program takes a lot of tenacity and drive, and not one of us here can say it has been easy from beginning to end. So many obstacles have interfered, from professional, to personal, to educational, and each and every one of us has persevered. When you find yourself sailing in a storm, you learn what you’re really made of.
Today, we are all one year better at guiding our figurative crafts through rough waters. We are all one year smarter than we were. We are one year stronger. We have become captains of our own destinies. Even as we ride the waves of this accomplishment, we know now that this has been, and still is, a catalyst for changing our lives. We have navigated rough waters to reach this destination, and have used the winds of change to guide us.
Someone once said that ‘impossible’ is a word people use when they’re willing to quit.
We can’t use that word anymore .
