Tang: ‘Don't miss out on the present by immersing yourself in the future’

Hello. My name is Justine Tang and I am honored to be the valedictorian for the Class of 2026. I'd like to begin by thanking everyone who has helped me get to where I am today: my family, my teachers, and anyone I've interacted with in the past four years—you all have had an impact on who I am now, however small you think it may be.

This is the day we have been waiting for for four years. The day where the expectation switches from preparing for whatever your next step is—college, trade school, the military, or something else—to preparing for a stable adulthood through that step, and to integrate into the society we were born into. The day where the rigidity of grade school structure leaves us, forcing us to face what marks the beginning of our adult lives. The day that comes with excitement, and yet a faint sense of dread: the dread of the looming uncertainty that plagues the future.

But if you think about it more, this dread isn't new. It was there in middle school as we transitioned to high school, and was there in elementary school as we transitioned to middle school. It was there through all the constant reminders of how “this won't fly in high school” or how “next year will be so much different.” It's persisted through all these years, urging us to continue relentlessly preparing for the future, or rather, the next stage of the future we face.

And sometimes, that preparation begins to consume your whole identity.

I used to single-mindedly chase the next stage of my future in the academic world. Throughout grade school, I would painstakingly look through every assignment I completed, making sure that they fit the criteria of what I was given exactly. I would stress over every tiny detail on a test and throw tantrums if I didn't do everything right. I would spend every waking moment fixated on whether the things I did would be beneficial to the “next step,” relentlessly pursuing the activities I thought were important, turning down events and invitations that I'd never get again, cutting out anything and anyone that would get in the way.

But as time passed, I began to realize how little of a reward all of this had. Sure, I could be proud of what I've achieved. Sure, it might lead to an easier and happier future. But in focusing on the future, I forgot to appreciate what was going on around me—my mom who was there for me no matter what I found myself in, my teachers who supported the antics I would pull in class, and my friends, who helped me feel a little less alone in my pursuit of a distant ideal.

Ultimately, what awaits after today is just another part of our lives. Middle school led to high school. High school leads to college or trade school, which leads to the workforce, which, in the end, leads to retirement. If we spent our whole lives preparing for the next step, then, well, what would be left of it after everything was over?

Preparing for the future is important. But staying fixated on it only makes you waste your life away. We live in a world with infinite possibilities, and a countless number of things happening right now around us. If we focus too much on distant possibilities, we'll miss too much of what's happening now, and too much of what this world has to offer next.

Don't miss out on the present by immersing yourself in the future. There's a whole world right here and right now, and you're living in it.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026, and thank you for your time.

Read Tang’s entire speech at theyorktownnews.com