I want us all to try an experiment today. Could every person here raise their hand? Now, raise your hand even higher. Ask yourself this – why did you fail to raise your hand that high the first time? Maybe you’re tired from a late night. Maybe your arm is sore from a workout. Maybe it’s my fault, because I didn’t encourage you, or give clear directions. Or maybe today just isn’t your day, and you just can’t give your best effort.

Failure is not a word that is often used to describe our class. After all, we have been wildly successful. We have students who have achieved the highest levels of academic excellence in science and mathematics, in languages, history and English. We have top-notch athletes, many of whom will be continuing their careers in college next year. We’ve won Olympics. Twice. We have extraordinary visual artists and performing artists, musicians and writers. We even have the Mellow Fellows. It’s pretty crazy how accomplished we are.

But those very same people, the ones who have reached such great heights–they’ve also failed. We all have. Failed a test. Airballed the shot. Played the wrong notes. Failed to be there for a friend. We’ve had days where we didn’t show up at our best. Days where we gave our all and fell short. My Mom doesn’t even know this, but I failed Integrated Algebra in 10th grade. That will be a fun conversation after the ceremony. Point is, we’ve all failed at something. And all of you sitting in the audience– well, I bet you have, too.

High school is a rollercoaster of emotions. It certainly has been for me. Ups and downs, twists and turns, all can happen in a single class, a day, a semester, and a year. The question always is, how can you take the highs with the lows? How can you learn to lose a battle one day, and have the will-power to win a battle the next? The reality is that not every day can be a good one. But with each fall comes an opportunity to rise. So how do we do it? How do we learn from our failures – the times where we can barely get our hand in the air – let alone reach for new heights?

I’ve found, personally, that there are two things to learn from failure.

The first thing to learn from failure is how to handle embarrassment. No one wants to fail, and no one wants others to see them fail – which is what happened to me my freshman year.

Many of you know that I’m involved in theater. What you probably don’t know is that I tried out for the fall play in my freshman year of high school and failed. I was not cast. I thought maybe that was the end of that, that acting wasn’t my thing. But thanks to my friend, Jeremy Tam, I tried out a few months later for the musical, and I got the part.

But still, there was a setback. On the opening night of the spring musical, Bright Star, I was shaking with nerves. The theater was sold out, every seat filled. During the first act, one of the hardest parts of the show was that I had a quick-change – meaning I had about 15 seconds to change from one outfit to another, so I could get onstage for the next scene. I had practiced the change every day for the past week, and it had never gone wrong. So that night, I ran offstage, threw off my pants and shirt, all according to plan. Except, my tie. It wouldn’t budge.

Take a moment to picture this: little freshman Liam, in the hallway outside the theater, standing in nothing but boxer briefs and a necktie. Of course, I was changing for my big song, so the entire cast was waiting in that same hallway for me to get onstage. Mr. Beck came running, holding  a giant pair of scissors. Together we struggled to get the tie off. Trying to pull it off only made it tighter, and we were both afraid to try the scissors. So, I got my clothes on, and shoved the tie that wouldn’t budge under my shirt. And guess what? I survived. I was definitely embarrassed. The entire 40-student cast had seen my lucky Celtics underwear. And, I had definitely failed. I was late for my scene, and could barely breathe, let alone sing. But the show went on.

Which brings me to the second thing you need to learn from failure: a support system is your most important asset. Friends who encourage you to try again, who help you laugh off your mistakes and celebrate your wins. Directors who are willing to cut your tie off with a pair of scissors. Teachers who help you work harder – or who pick you up by blasting Pearl Jam songs in the hallway between classes. Coaches who let you take chances. A community that supports you, in good times and bad. I’ve found that here and my support system has given me the confidence to keep trying, even when I’ve wanted to quit.  I’m so grateful to all the people who have made my failures easier to take, and by doing so, made all my successes possible.

As we head off to our respective journeys, I hope that we all find success. But I also hope everyone remembers that failure doesn’t have to be an end– it can be the beginning. Be brave. Find support. And, remember this: it’s not about the fall, it’s about the rise. So one last time, please: everyone in this room – raise your hand. Now, raise it even higher. See how high you can reach? Maybe you have a failure to thank.

Thank you and congratulations!