Skip to main content

Salutatorian Speech

  Hello everyone. My name is Vivian Hir and I am honored to give the salutatorian speech. I will attend MIT in the fall as a prospective chemical biology major. Before I begin my speech, I would like to thank all teachers in Quarry Lane that have helped me in high school and congratulate all members of this class for their achievements.

Like most classmates, I can’t believe I was the same person four years ago when I entered the school as a shy freshman. When Dr. Pale asked me in biology class about what I wanted to study on the first day of school, my answer was neuroscience. I knew little about neuroscience, which showed that I was clueless in 9th grade. Even though I had no idea which academic subjects interested me at that time, Quarry Lane helped me develop my passion for STEM. From Chemistry Olympiad club sessions to afterschool Science Olympiad projects, these activities made me find beauty in the world of science. What I got from these experiences was a stronger desire to learn more beyond the classroom. This self-transformation would not have been possible without these opportunities and the support from teachers. I want to thank Ms. Pezzi for encouraging me to challenge myself in Chemistry Olympiad. I also want to thank Mr. Hewes for providing me essential advice on how to be an effective leader in Science Olympiad. 

My story of academic growth and development during my time here is not unique. In fact, I have seen this story happen in our class. Whether it is late sessions in the robotics lab or speech and debate competitions in various places, we have emerged from these activities as individuals that are more curious and determined. Our experiences in Quarry Lane not only have provided periods of self-discovery and reflection, but also important moments of emotional and social growth. It is because of Quarry Lane’s tight-knit environment where we fostered close connections, causing us to help one another and find a niche. 

Now that high school will become the past and college will define the next four years of our lives, I will end this speech with a quote by Annie Dillard to guide you in the future. “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” The habits we do every day from watching TV to using smartphones are a reflection of how we live our lives in the long term. Yes, we are only 17 or 18 years old, but that doesn’t mean that we have all the time in the world. All of us are given a limited amount of time and that means we are here on this planet to use it well. Spend more time doing things that truly make you happy and fulfilled instead of things that don’t improve your life. The reason this quote is my favorite one is that by taking this advice to heart early on, we will have fewer regrets in life about the time we lost. 

Thank you for listening and I wish the best for all graduates of the class of 2021.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Accepted BU RISE Essays

BU RISE is a 6-week research program at Boston University. In 2019, the acceptance rate was around 16% so it is a selective program. There are two tracks- internship and practicum. The internship is the one I applied to because I wanted to work in a lab. Unfortunately, BU RISE in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19. If you are applying to BU RISE, these essays may be a source of inspiration.  1.Why you selected your field of interest and what you would like to research (300 words)  First choice: medical laboratory research (biochemistry) Second choice: chemistry  Ever since 2018, I participated in a Science Olympiad event called Protein Modeling that sparked my interest in proteins. When I learned about the anti-CRISPR protein, it alarmed me that the protein stopped CRISPR from working. Wondering how this could happen, I used Jmol to build and visualize the protein model. Over time, I no longer viewed proteins as messy globs. Instead, I appreciated that the protein’s disti...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Funny Thing About Memory

 The more I stay in the U.S., the more I remember my years in Taiwan in a positive light. I feel like my nostalgia for Taiwan caused my memories to become distorted. When I lived in Taiwan, I disliked the humid environment and the gray skies after rainy days. I complained that the buildings had gray walls from the mold that grew on them. In elementary school, I wished that the city planning reflected the U.S. system where all the residential buildings were together instead of having commercial and residential buildings next to each other. After returning to the U.S. five years later, however, I don't really think those aspects of Taiwan were really downsides. Nowadays, I somehow manage to neglect those "downsides" whenever I think of Taiwan.  What I currently think about Taiwan is not what I expected to reflect upon the most as I boarded the plane to San Francisco in 2016. When I saw the green land vanish before my eyes outside my airplane window, I thought about how much...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why I Blog

 For the past two years, I have been blogging every so often, but I never asked myself why I blogged. The main reason I blog is to store and organize my thoughts that I keep hearing in my brain. These thoughts range from past memories to feelings of disappointment or anger. By writing my thoughts, I gain some clarity. Also, blogging serves as a form of self-reflection that I need to do on a regular basis or else my brain still acts fuzzy.  Although I write a lot of posts that aren't positive, I have a pretty good life. The reason that I tend to write a lot of negative things about myself on the blog is that if I don't write about bad things, then they keep bothering me. Worse, I may not learn from my mistakes or lessons. Still, I will try to balance out the negative content with some positive content because I want this blog to be useful for others. I don't want a blog where I all I do is criticize myself for failing to live up to my expectations. Instead, I want this websi...
Post a Comment
Read more