'I Hate Graduation Speeches,' Pepper Dominello Says In His Speech

Pepper Jake Arthur Dominello's speech at Nonnewaug High School's graduation was undoubtably the crowd favorite, garnering the only standing ovation.

A video of the class president's speech is attached to this article. Here are some excerpts:

I hate graduation speeches. I've never come across one that I've enjoyed…

I hate them because I've found that they don't matter. 

I hate them because they aren't real and I'm not going to tell you a single thing you don't already know. 

I've been dreading this moment for months, dreading this moment where you all look to me for some parting wisdom, some hidden truth. I've been dreading this moment when it became painfully apparent that no one on this stage has anymore of a clue than you do.

I've been dreading this moment when the veil of childhood was finally lifted  and we all see each other for what we really are - insignificant.

In terms of size, Earth isn't even a coffee stain on the edge of the universe, and you certainly aren't around … longer than a blink of an eye in terms of interstellar age.

And yet most of us are still delusional to believe that we matter. Most of us are still convoluted enough to think that being anything other than happy is worth our time. 

If we can count the stars, if we can see the context of the universe in which we exist,  if we can see how small each one of us is against the vastness of what's really out there, maybe then we would finally be happy.

Maybe then we would stop caring what other people think.

Maybe then we would all realize that getting good grades doesn't make you a good person and your self esteem is much more than a number on a piece of paper.

Maybe then we wouldn't cling to our youthful notion that other people have all the answers and one day we too will finally understand.

Maybe then we would get over ourselves and finally be happy. Don't get me wrong. I don't think we could or should be happy all the time. I simply don't have that much faith in the human condition. 

Some days you're going to lose perspective. Some days life is going to chew you up and spit you out. 

There will be some days when you don't know what to do, what to think or how to feel. There will be some days when the struggle of it all doesn't seem worth it. But you're not alone. This is something that took me a lot of time to figure out. 

I spent so much time thinking it was me against the world but I was wrong. We're all in this one together. If we're nothing but grains of sand on the never-ending beach that is all of existence, at least we're all grains of sand together. Don't forget that. You're way too insignificant to ever be better than anyone else.

And so I urge you to embrace the trivial nature of it all. Because we're all here to make this life a wonderful adventure.

People often forget that life is much more than diplomas, jobs and money. We all spend so much time doggedly slaving toward the better car, the perfect house, the big day that will finally make us happy, when happiness is a crisp autumn day, a conversations with the person next to you on the Metro or the night spent counting the stars.

If you spend your entire life waiting for happiness to find you, you're going to be waiting a very long time. You need to go out there and find it for yourself.