Transcript for My 9/11 All-School Assembly Speech
My heartfelt thanks to all who have been here for me all these years.
Introduction
To all students and staff of Arcadia High School, thank you all so much. I am so utterly grateful for everyone’s support for my speech to the student body today. To all the people who have personally messaged me, approached me in the hallways — even asked me “hi, how are you doing?” as a direct (albeit hilarious) callback to my speech — your support and reaching out means the world to me.
To know that I have impacted someone’s life for the better, and to hear from some that it was a great speech, to even the best speech, is the inspiration that keeps me going every single day. It is easy to go fast alone, but it is even more exciting to go far together. And I can’t wait for what’s coming next. Here’s a transcript of my 9/11 Assembly Speech.
The Speech
[Intro]
Thank you all so much and hello Apaches! My name is Braden Wong, your ASB President. Here at ASB, we believe in building a community for all of us. That is why I am honored to be here today as we commemorate September 11, 2001, with this quote from Dr. Seuss:
“To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.”
We overestimate what few things we can do to ten people, but underestimate what enormous things we can for just one. Because one person might not change the world, but changing the world for one person happens every day.
Teachers and staff, each student here is only one of thousands you’ve watched grow, but to us, you might be the only ones to ever inspire us. The first ones to help us find our passions. The only ones to mentor us. And students, we are the world to each other on so many levels — because we make new experiences together, and that’s something that’s so incredibly precious.
Believe in the impact each of you has on one person.
[A friend]
A few months ago, I saw a friend who I hadn’t seen for a long time. I went up and asked, “Hey man, what’s up? How’s life?” We started chatting, and I noticed he was crying. I asked him about it, and he suddenly burst into tears. I’ll never forget the words he said afterwards.
“I’m sorry, it’s just nobody has ever asked me that before.”
And at that moment, I cried too.
To think that I can go out and say “hi” to hundreds of people every single day, and to think that every single day, he never gets to hear those simple words even once? — broke my heart.
To me, he is one of hundreds, but to him, I am one of one — the only one who says “hi”, who asks “how are you doing?”, who may even acknowledge that he exists. So I need to make it count — because trust me, I know what it feels like to be alone not by choice, and I don’t want anyone to ever feel that way again.
On September 11, 2001, fire patrolman Keith Roma made the decision to go inside the North Tower to help others out not once, not twice, but four times.
To him, each person in that building was one of hundreds who needed saving. But to each of the over 200 lives he personally escorted and saved, he was one of one: the only one, the only hero, who came for them in their greatest time of need.
And to his father Arnold, who served side-by-side with him in the same department for years and even on that very day, he was one of one too. The only son who made him proud and laid his life serving his country. The only son that wouldn’t be returning home that day. Because on that day, Keith didn’t just serve, but made the ultimate sacrifice.
On that day, one man, and thousands of other first responders, became the world for tens of thousands of people. Today, we salute Keith and all other first responders for their outstanding service, because a normal day to them is not a normal day for any one of us.
[A request]
Friends, your world may compose of hundreds, if not thousands, of people, but for one of them, their world might only have you.
Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change themselves.
I’m not asking you, one person, to change the world for everyone. I’m asking you, everyone, to change the world for one person.
Because one person is all that it takes.
[A method]
If you want to make friends, I have only one rule for you to follow: make people feel better when you’re with them than when you’re not.
Because to quote Maya Angelou, “people will forget what you said and what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And the feelings you create when you’re around is what truly makes the difference.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, I have only one question: how about you stand up for a person?
Be there for them, not just in their greatest times, but their greatest time of need.
Because the crowd may not remember you, may forget you, but that one person in the corner of the room who nobody else listened or even cared about? The one person who you advocated for? They will never forget you.
And if you want to change someone’s world, I have only one action for you: just sincerely ask someone today, “hi, how are you doing?”
Because “hi, how are you doing?” is not meaningless smalltalk, but the most meaningful question that 7.7 billion other people in this world will never even bother asking them.
Because “hi, how are you doing?” is caring about someone enough to ask them. Care that brings us closer together.
[Closing]
In closing, today, let’s make a difference. Thank your teacher, our custodians, our first responders, because to you, it could just be a second from your day, but to them, it could be the second that makes theirs. And thank you, for being the most amazing students and staff this campus could ask for. To the world, we are just one school, but to each other, we will always be Apaches. Thank you.