Graduation Speech for My Daughter

Opening Congratulations and Reflection on Parent-Child Relationship

Dear Shreya, first of all, allow me to congratulate you for successfully completing your high school education! Your determination, and demonstrated drive to hard work is beyond my expectation over the past four years. That I am standing here talking about you on this special day makes me feel flabbergasted that you are no longer my young girl whom I used to enjoy her 30 minutes company almost every morning, but an adult who is now going to face the world. Indeed you are no longer the small child of my memories, but a young lady now. I thank you for making this day possible, just so that I can not only talk to you but also about you to the whole world. I lack the words to describe the joy and sadness that swirl in my emotions. I already miss the father-daughter moments we shared, the car-talking which always gave me the opportunity to understand you. Trust me, the 30-minutes' drive was never enough; I wish we had a longer drive home!

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A Journey from Childhood to Adulthood

I call it a blessing for having the opportunity to watch you develop from the incredibly cute small kid you were to the beautiful young lady you have become. It seems just like yesterday when I used to see you as a short, bouncy, inquisitive little girl and now you are graduating and headed off to college. Maybe to you, it seems you've taken forever to get to this milestone, but personally, I feel it happened all too quickly. Believe me, it's saddening imagining you starting the rest of your life with little of my guidance, but it cannot compare to how happy and proud I am to know that you are going outside there well prepared and dedicated to your dreams. And please, always remember the words of one Will Rodgers that "even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." Let your schooling not interfere with your education, and always remember to follow your passion. As a family, we're extremely proud of you. You cannot imagine the sense of relief we are experiencing now that very soon it will be our turn to ask for money from you, and not the other way round. And never think that you're too small to be effective. You can only imagine how effective you'd be if you found yourself in a dark room with mosquitoes.

Final Farewell and Affectionate Wishes

My baby, you are ready! I have always wondered if we've done a good job of raising you. I always thought that you will have a marathon run in applying for colleges, but clearly, you preferred a sprint run, and already you have won the gold and have secured your admission in the precious Stanford University. Now all you have to do now is to find the gold in the farm. I will no longer doubt our work in bringing you up, I will only look at the young lady you've become and grow a smile on my face with satisfaction. You could have never been that intelligent, thoughtful, creative, funny and loving young lady you are if we could have messed it too badly. For this reason, I give credit all those who were responsible into developing you into this adorable being you are: your teachers, church, classmates, friends, the whole of the family, and more importantly, myself. Baby, I adore you, and love you very much and believe me when I tell you that this is one of the best days of my life, and also the toughest. This is the best day because I know that you are now going out there ready and well prepared to take on the world as it comes, and I am certain you're going to do it. It is also one of the toughest because I will miss you terribly after you've gone away to the college. I will miss all adrenaline rush of waking up early for drop-offs and the fact that there is no more rush for pick-ups. Indeed in the next few days, I will already be as slow as a turtle. I understand your love for penguins and Caps my love. Soon I will cultivate a new hobby collecting caps, all for you, and how I wish I could make friends with the penguins; they could be visiting you more than I do. So, again, congratulations my young lady and I love you so very much! Thank you!