Charlie Goldstein Graduation Speech Video

Charlie Goldstein - Graduation Address - June 10, 2020

So, some of you probably know, I’ve been at brandeis for 9 whole years! 9 years of the same building, the same community, some of the same classmates! 

Ya, I’ve had to deal with a few of them for most of my life. No, I’m just kidding, I love you guys. 

I remember when I was in kindergarten, my 8th grade buddy was Ruven. I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, he’s old! He’s like a full grown man!”

I’m in 8th grade! I don’t feel like a man! Granted, there were 1 or 2 of those 8th graders with full blown mustaches. 

Even in kindergarten, I thought to myself, that will be me one day. An 8th grade man with a mustache…Sorry kindergarten Charlie, at least you got 1 of those things. 

I know I’m being a little bit mean to kindergarten Charlie, but he also didn’t think about another important thing. Leaving Brandeis. Going to high school. 

I used to sit, so bored during graduation, while every single 8th grader said that Brandeis was their home away from home. I know it’s cliche, and I know everyone says it, but Brandeis really is my home, and the closer I get to moving on, the more I realize this.

I mean, let's take a look. What makes a place your home? Family, I have that at Brandeis. A safe space where you can be yourself, I have that at Brandeis. A place to go when you're sad or angry, I have that at Brandeis.

Now that I’ve talked about how wrong my kindergarten self was about 8th grade, and discussed speech cliches that I’m giving in to, let's talk about my classmates - if I’m going to give in to 1 cliche, I might as well give in to all of them.

We have an amazing class. Teachers say it, parents say it, even Erez, our amazing tour guide in Israel, said it, so it must be true. 

I’ve been here since kindergarten, and I’ve seen people come and go in our class, but the bonds between most of us are still strong.

Whether you’ve been dealing with me since kindergarten, or you just joined, and still have some patience left, I can honestly say I will miss you all, and yes, I know I will see you still, just not as much. I’ve literally been around the world and back with most of you, and I don’t plan on stopping our journey now. 

Thank you.