“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.
"I remember the weight. Feeling the darkness drag me down to a place I thought even God couldn’t go. Where I was a nothing and nothing really mattered. Where loneliness devoured my insides but no human being could fill the void. In that moment, I knew only the darkness."
"By 2020, depression will be our greatest epidemic worldwide: greater than cancer, heart disease, and AIDS combined. One in four individuals will be diagnosed at some time in their lifetime."
"I am a depressed Christian. I don’t mean that in the identity sense, like vegans, Crossfitters, and people who don’t own a television. I mean I’m a Christian who has dealt with depression and anxiety in various forms for many years."
