Never Stop Learning Because Education is the Key: Keynote Speech from Dora Kennedy Graduation

"So as I sat there in my room… I thought about what would I tell that 13 year old kid who is about to go to high school. That kid who was nervous about fitting in. That kid who was a little bit unsure of himself. What’s the one thing I would tell them to give them the cheat code for the next 10 years… NEVER. STOP. LEARNING. BC ÉDUCATION IS THE KEY I DONT CARE HOW CORNY THAT SOUNDS. ITS THE TRUTH. you’re going to be faced with a lot of choices in these new places you’re going. You’re going to have to choose new friends. You’re going to have to choose what college you want to go to. Or if you want to go to college at all. You’re going to have to choose whether or not you want to fit in with the crowd. And the decisions you make are going to determine where you end up in life. And the only way to make sure you end up where you want to be is to NEVER. STOP. LEARNING. BC ÉDUCATION IS THE KEY. Start by learning about yourself and what you are passionate about. It won’t happen overnight. And you will change your answer a couple times. But that’s ok. Keep trying until you get it right. And you have to be curious. Explore what the world has to offer. Try new things. Step outside your comfort zone. Meet new people. Ask more questions. Because you’ll never know what’s possible until you decide to look around you and see. Travel more. Don’t limit yourself. You’ll be surprised how much stuff you can get for free if you just ask. Nothing is impossible. Impossible is just the opinion of people who forgot how to dream. Everything we previously thought was impossible was made possible by someone who asked « why not ». If you told people that you could make millions of dollars doing YouTube videos they would’ve told you that was impossible too. But you’ll never be able to do the impossible unless you NEVER STOP LEARNING. BC ÉDUCATION IS THE KEY. And finally, build your toolkit. Set goals for yourself. Whatever you want to accomplish you’re going to have to learn some new things to make your dreams a reality. Whether it’s business, how to make computer programs, or how to go viral. I don’t care if you like doing makeup (learn everything and be the best), if you like fashion, if you want to be a youtuber, if you like doing hair, if you like making people laugh, if you like being a sneakerhead, if you like art, if you like arguing with people. If you like french, if you like business, if you like building stuff. It’s possible. You can do it. There’s a lane for everybody. You each have an opportunity to create a life that you can be proud of. But the only way you’ll be able to create that life is if you have the tools to actually do it. And nowadays with google you’re never more than 2 seconds away from learning ANYTHING. And it’s your responsibility to educate yourself inside the classroom and outside the classroom. But you’ll never be able to create a life that you can be proud of unless you NEVER. STOP LEARNING. BC ÉDUCATION IS THE KEY."