Leaving home was extremely hard for me. For one thing, I’d never been on a plane before and had been outside Germany only once in my life. For another, I felt tremendous guilt leaving my family given all that we’d been through. I didn’t want to be selfish, yet I knew I wanted to do something I loved to do. I wanted to travel. I wanted to play soccer.
As the oldest, I took care of my brother and sister when my mother worked because my father couldn’t be bothered. When I was in high school, I tutored other students in French and German to make some money that helped pay the household bills.
Not long after the four of us moved out, my mom was struck by a car — the driver ran a red light — while she was riding her bike to work. She had to have surgery on her hand and it was eight weeks before she could hold a broom again. I worked her 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. cleaning shift at a construction company until she recovered.
My family basically pushed me onto a plane when I was struggling to decide if I should leave in 2016. It was my stepfather, Herbert, who convinced me to go. I felt he had my back and was there for my mom and siblings. He removed some of the guilt I felt by leaving them. He’s been a blessing for all of us.
One of my professors in the education department, Clif Conrad, recommended me and so I was asked to submit some graduation remarks for consideration. It was a last-minute rush due to some technical difficulties — it was due at 11:59 p.m. on a Monday and I finally sent it along at 11:53 — but that gave way to surprised elation when I got word that I’d been chosen. I didn’t think it was a big thing until many people told me how big a deal it was.
My speech is built on the metaphor of a 90-minute soccer match, how those 5,400 seconds are a reward for all the hard work you put in leading up to it. The objective isn’t necessarily a victory, though. It’s reaching the 91st minute with no regrets.
