Disclaimer: I do not own YGO.
...
Ahem.
Um.
Hi. My name is Yugi. Erm, Yugi Motou.
I'm incredibly honored to represent the Domino Class of 2017 at our graduation ceremony. Thank you to all of our teachers, families, friends, and staff- everyone who made today possible. I am so very humbled that all of you thought enough of me and my bad jokes to elect me as our class speaker, even though in all honesty any one of you would have done a wonderful and much better job at not looking like a pineapple-headed dork standing on stage.
All jokes aside, I am very grateful to be here with all of you today. There were periods of time when I genuinely thought we would not make it this far, and not just because Mr. Karita thought it would be hilarious to have us learn Gangnam Style during Gym Class. (I hate to tell you this, Mr. Karita, but only Tea actually managed to look somewhat graceful. The rest of us just looked like drunk penguins.)
We have all struggled and suffered through that and many other eye-bleaching moments- ahem, Tristan, Joey, prom dresses, and ketchup for example- and I am super excited that all of us made it through the past twelve years with our sanity intact.
To be honest, I was just as surprised as most of you when I received word that I was to give the Commencement Speech, mostly because I figured the school would have to order an extra podium for Kaiba, too, just so he could duel me for the right to give this speech.
(You guys can laugh, but I am absolutely serious. See, he's even got his deck out right now!)
I couldn't have even begun to imagine today as a wide-eyed child walking into first grade for the first time. I couldn't have imagined that, by walking through those double glass doors, I was taking the first step into an incredibly journey of knowledge and friendship. I thought I was just another kid with a backpack that was much too big for him, doomed to be invisible forever, like a bad cake at the bakery or a speck of lint on a dirty floor. As a child I wasn't good at much of anything, which is why I spent an embarrassing amount of time perfecting my hair spikes and living in fantasy worlds made of games.
It wasn't until I met all of you that I found friends, real friends who for some reason really like to hear me ramble about trap and spell card combinations even though most of you have the same glazed-over look every time our teachers talk about something super boring. By listening to me and agreeing to be my friend, all of you taught me something about the value of human bonds in an increasingly chaotic society, and I am grateful for the twelve years I was able to forge those bonds with you.
For the longest time, I felt as if people saw me but didn't see me, and it wasn't until I took the time to see how everyone else saw me that I realized I needed to be an active player in my own life. It was scary, pushing aside my shyness and insecurities to talk to the bravest girl I know, but I'm glad I did because it showed me that everyone has fears and the important part is to acknowledge those fears and not let those fears keep us from the life that is awaiting for us. The more I opened up, the more I realized how similar we all are and how much richer life is when we have friendship and compassion on our side.
You know, people call me the King of Games. I'm not even sure what that means, really. Probably that I have too much time on my hands? Or maybe I need to actually work out instead of lifting decks of card games?
Seriously, I really am confused by what the title means. It doesn't really matter, though. All I know is that playing card games introduced me to a group of people who accepted me for me, weird quirks and all. The best part about having friends like that is that they absolutely don't care if I'm the King of Games or the King of Hairspray.
That's the way it should be. We shouldn't have to change ourselves to be liked by the people who matter most- not at Domino High, and certainly not after we graduate. Today we are here; tomorrow we will scatter across the globe. Some of us are flying halfway around the world to pursue our dreams. Some of us are flying halfway across the country to pursue academics. And still more of us are flying halfway across town for the best ramen and fried egg in Japan.
Wherever we go, however, I hope we never change what is good and true about ourselves. I hope we never change our core beliefs to be cool, and I hope we never, ever compromise on our ideals to fit in. I wanted so badly to be liked as a kid and I still do, but you guys have taught me it is more important to be principled than liked, because if you are principled, then the people worth liking will consider liking you, too.
Life is a lot duel monsters, though. We each have our abilities and skills, weaknesses and strengths, strategies and disappointments. We fight battles each day against the evils of the world- despair, apathy, inequality- and we sometimes lose. The important thing is that we don't give up, because we have people fighting alongside us who believe in the same things we do- that if enough determined people unite and fight for what is right and just, then eventually we will win together.
But Yugi, you're thinking to yourself, life isn't a duel. It's not all fair. Not everyone follows the rules. People lie, cheat, and steal. Life is inherently unequal whereas no one is above duel monster rules, except maybe Kaiba when he special summons multiple monsters in one turn.
To which I say, yep, life is unfair and Kaiba sure has a lot of money.
But that shouldn't stop us from fighting on. To the contrary, unfairness should only spur us to fight harder. The cost may be high and the battles may be long, but anything worth fighting for is worth dedicating ourselves to, and I for one am determined to keep fighting for our right to a more fair life for everyone.
Real life always falls short of what we imagine it could be; what we dream is always higher than what we achieve. This differential does not mean we should just give up. We keep fighting because we need to, because there is no other person, no other generation more suited to right all the wrongs we experience everyday. Who better than us to make the world as it should be?
Sure, we will encounter many scary, awful, and terrifying events outside these walls, and we have to remember that even in the darkest of times, we must still believe in the righteousness of our quest. We may fall and we may fail, but I hope we will always return our hearts to right now, in this arena, and remember that we are fighting with our friends, for the best life has to offer.
So go forth, Domino Class of 2017, go forth and change the world. I am here for you as all of you are here for me. We will cherish each other and the times we have spent here, taking with us everything we need for the journey ahead.
And now, as a dear friend of mine would say-
It's time to duel.
...
Yep, finally saw DSOD. Cried a ton. Wrote this sappy piece because FEELS.