“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say..."
Early College High School valedictorian Alem Hadzic has gone viral after he took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father's funeral.
"My daughter would question me as to why I wasn’t wearing a two-piece bathing suit. I would tell her 'Mommy just doesn’t feel comfortable in it,' and when she would push for me to explain what I meant I would just deflect the conversation and bring up a new topic."
"Wearing this style bottom is like encasing half a sausage and then just giving up, letting the other half flop around into whatever shape it feels like depending on which direction the wind is blowing and how much gluten I had for dinner last night."
"I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed that after a year and a half of four to five days a week at the gym, I now look like this, ashamed at how I've 'let myself go' since the pandemic started."
"I wanted to stand in front of the mirror and suck it in at different angles... I wanted to lift up my boobs and try to see my waist... I wanted to say “nope not wearing this” as I tried to stretch out the waistband."
