Graduation Speech to a Friend – From One Client to Another

I wanted to start off by saying how proud of you I am and how lucky I am to have you as one of my closest friends here.

You have had immeasurable growth since being here in all areas, but especially when it comes to your confidence in yourself, your communication styles, your coping, and your desire to be a force in this world.

And that’s what you will be…a force in this world. All of the steps you are currently taking and will continue to take are leading you to a bright future of love, success, achievement, happiness, and growth. Now it won’t all be happiness, as you and I both know, but you have accessed your inner strength needed to handle anything that comes your way with ferocity and grace.

When I first met you, I deeply admired your can-do attitude and it made me feel safe when I was around you and it still does. Your devotion in helping others was magical to watch, how you could create change and lead the crowd. Over the past 6 months I have seen something come alive in you and shine brighter and brighter as you’ve grown. What began as a natural empathetic nature and awareness of those around you has now become a glowing gift that is backed up by grace, effective communication, rationality, strength, and a healthy balance. You are becoming the change you want to see in this world and for that I can say, or rather we all can say, that we are so proud of you.

You chose to get better, you worked to get better. You triumphed and fell and experienced all of your truest emotions in the adventure that is regaining yourself and your health. This is an accomplishment that should never be taken lightly, as you fought for your life and have won. You are strong, amazing, powerful, and capable.

I cherish all of our memories we’ve made thus far. Every time I came to your room on the ranch to escape and talk, and how you became the first person I was ever truly able to relate to about caring for a family member that struggles with addiction, which I think we both needed in order to begin healing. I cherish all of our time together as barn managers, our chats that lasted hours, our cheese danish shopping trips, and our sing-alongs in the car.

I’m so glad we got to be roommates and help each other along the way. Though we never did finish Bones, but we did finish those crawfish so that makes up for it. All of the cooking and baking, the games and decorating and candle making, I will cherish it all.

Thank you for everything you have done for me. You have made my time here that much more safe and comfortable. And you have taught me what a healthy, loving, and reciprocal friendship looks like. I know that I can use you as a standard for what a friend should be and what a friend should not be. This means the world to me.

I am so excited to see where you go from here and I know you will conquer college. I see great things in this world for you. I am so proud of you and you should be thrilled with yourself because you have put in all the hard work, and you have come out on top. Congratulations and thank you for everything.