WE ALL BLEED THE SAME

Skateboard Student & Valedictorian Madison Weisman Speech

Two years ago, all of us watched the world change. In those quiet moments when we were being told to put our passions on hold, with our lives derailed and missing our friends; those of us here discovered the great lengths we would go to do what we love. For a ridiculous amount of you, that was biking. For me, I faced my fear of pavement. We hiked mountains without lifts, skated spots security used to chase us from, and found that the closures took away the crowds and freed up our time. I don't doubt that many of us are here because of quarantine, and if you're like me, as difficult of a time as it was, it was the best thing that ever happened to you.

The quintessential thing that Wy'East has taught us is that you get what you put in-, whether that's a trick, a best friend, or even just learning how to do your own laundry. For all of us, this life is a blessing getting to do what we love every day, but not all of us that are here will be professional athletes. Some among us will be videographers or the future of brands as marketing executives, coaches or work for companies like tactics, Dakine, or, in my case, might be that friendly nurse that pops your shoulder back in place when something doesn't go quite as planned.

Wy'East didn't give us your average high school experience, but it gave us a 2nd family and allowed us to venture and try various new activities, meet new people, see new places, ride new slopes, and hit new skateparks. Over the years, we've traveled together, dined together, weathered thunderstorms overnight in BOB together, eaten each other's snacks(with or without permission), broken and fixed things together, and even dumped each other's laundry out when someone took too long. Don't lie.. you know you did.

When most of us got to Wy'East years ago, we were nervous and much smaller in stature. Not everyone who started this journey with us is here today, but their crazy antics and the life lessons from Lifecoachs like Nick and Clayton made a lasting impression.

If you were here for any of it, you will always be family. It wasn't always easy, especially for a female in some of these sports. Nick once said to me, "we all bleed the same." Words that often play over in my head when I need them. We got to know each other in a way that not many classmates get to, the coaches, and our teachers. In this journey, we were really getting to know ourselves by pushing our bodies to the limit, not so much being fearless as people like to think; but doing it in spite of fear, often defying gravity. I learned that going fast is mind-blowingly fun, that good comes with the bad, and that a solid group of supportive people is rare and wonderful. And lastly, you can, in fact, cook pasta in a teapot.

Together we discovered that spontaneous ideas to slip and slide around the skatepark in the rain leaves lasting memories and a whole lot of holes in our clothes. We've grown together, missed our families together, and landed our dream tricks or at least tried (over , and over , and over again). We broke stereotypes that wild kids that like to do crazy things can channel their passions into good grades and university commitments. Skateboarders aren't just hooligans. We can be Valedictorians - this is 2 in a row for us, not that Jamie's counting. And to that note, Jamie, it has been my pleasure to be your last official skate student. You helped me go from chaotic pushing around jungle to kickflips, bowls, and halfpipe tricks. There have been a lot of ups and downs here in the woods, so it's no wonder that there are many words of wisdom flying around. But in my experience, the best advice I've ever gotten is as simple as it gets - stop making assumptions. And when possible, It's best just to see where it goes. The class of 2022 knows this (just like the 2 Covid era classes before ours): it's easy to take things for granted, but nothing is guaranteed, nothing is out of reach, and the future is what we make of it. So be as committed and sendy in life as you are on your board, wheels, or sticks. As Confucius once said, "we have 2 lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one".

On behalf of my fellow graduates, I want to thank our friends, our families- especially our parents-for making this experience possible. We know it wasn't easy to give us up for a few years. To also thank our teachers and God for supporting us along the way. And on a personal note, for believing in this very long-shot bookworm, for teaching me how to skate, and the High Cascade crew for teaching me how to snowboard. I got a very late start on this adventure, but it didn't take me long to realize what I was chasing was a lifestyle, and this place has helped me figure out how to fund a lifetime of oceans, pavements, and mountain tops. It might be scary, but I stand here as living proof that it's never too late to start something new or do what you feel in your soul you were meant for. Congratulations, class of two thousand and twenty two; I think we're all a little sad it's over, but the adventure is just beginning ...

-Madison Weisman - Class of 2022