Graduation Speech: Don T Say Things, By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say… (Emerson, 1909).” I head this quote the first day of school my junior year of high school. My English teacher, Miss Wilson, shared Emerson’s quote to emphasize that what you do has a larger impact on the world than what you say. I was taught this lesson only a few short months later while standing in the rain, on a muddy football field.
I was the starting defensive tackle for the junior varsity team. I was having a good season, but didn’t have as many tackles and sacks as I would have liked. I knew I couldn’t be a leader if I didn’t produce enough on the field. I wasn’t a thunderous leader on the field, in …show more content…
I was determined not to let this happen, I could hold back my voice any long. “Come guys, we’ve got to want it,” I yelled as I stuck my hand in the cold soft mud getting ready for the next play. The ball is snapped. The Quarter-Back drops back and throws the ball for a twenty-yard completion. Several more plays go by with me yelling at my teammates, telling them “we need to believe in ourselves,” or “we need to have more heart.” It didn’t matter the other team just keep marching down the field. Play after play the picked up first down after first down, all the way to our four-yard line. It was third down and they only need four yards to tie the game. That’s when our coach calls a time out. As our coach is walking on to the field, I started in on my team again, “We have to dig deep. We can’t give up now.” Coach barked out his instructions to everyone, and as he is leaving he pointed at me and said, “You need to stop talking, because you have done anything all game.” Embarrassed I walked up to the scrimmage, stuck my hand in the soggy ground when the thought of Miss Wilson quoting Emerson came flooding back from the deeps of my memory. I hadn’t done anything thing to help my team, I had only said meaningless words. Once again, a determination filled my chest. I was going to be a leader, not with words but with
I was the starting defensive tackle for the junior varsity team. I was having a good season, but didn’t have as many tackles and sacks as I would have liked. I knew I couldn’t be a leader if I didn’t produce enough on the field. I wasn’t a thunderous leader on the field, in …show more content…
I was determined not to let this happen, I could hold back my voice any long. “Come guys, we’ve got to want it,” I yelled as I stuck my hand in the cold soft mud getting ready for the next play. The ball is snapped. The Quarter-Back drops back and throws the ball for a twenty-yard completion. Several more plays go by with me yelling at my teammates, telling them “we need to believe in ourselves,” or “we need to have more heart.” It didn’t matter the other team just keep marching down the field. Play after play the picked up first down after first down, all the way to our four-yard line. It was third down and they only need four yards to tie the game. That’s when our coach calls a time out. As our coach is walking on to the field, I started in on my team again, “We have to dig deep. We can’t give up now.” Coach barked out his instructions to everyone, and as he is leaving he pointed at me and said, “You need to stop talking, because you have done anything all game.” Embarrassed I walked up to the scrimmage, stuck my hand in the soggy ground when the thought of Miss Wilson quoting Emerson came flooding back from the deeps of my memory. I hadn’t done anything thing to help my team, I had only said meaningless words. Once again, a determination filled my chest. I was going to be a leader, not with words but with