Graduation speech given by an eighth grader

What is the ultimate goal in life?
Is it to be rich? Is it to be loved?
These are things I find myself thinking about a lot. Recently…I have realized I am going to high school in a few months.There is going to be about a hundred times the people in my grade then there was this year…literally. There will probably also be a hundred times the drama, the school will probably be a hundred times larger, and my level of stress will also increase…by a hundred times.When high school begins, I have four years left. Four years to figure out w-h-a-t I w-a-n-t to prioritize and w-h-a-t I w-a-n-t to be, and how I w-a-n-t to live the rest of my life. This is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. When I am 80 years old and I am living in a retirement… home in Florida will I be happy with who I am? What will I have accomplished?
So I asked someone who is in fact 80 years old (my grandpa)
“What is the ultimate goal in life?” and he said something that made a lot of sense to me.
….“Happiness is the ultimate goal of life.”…
But how do I achieve happiness?
People are always wanting things. We have a never ending list of desires. For example, I want a pair of Louboutin heels and a Louis Vuitton handbag. It is something I crave and that I desire, but it does not determine whether I am happy or I am sad. If I focus on just getting a pair of shoes and a handbag for my whole life, then when I’m living in that retirement home looking back on my life will I be happy with it?
^^^^^^^ *look up* ^^^^^^^^^
I don’t think I will. I will be stylish, but not happy.
I’ve learned that to achieve happiness I have to be content with what I have. I have realized that I have so many things to be grateful for, and so many opportunities and open doors that other kids may not have. People do not choose where they are born, who their family is, or what their financial situation is. But, they make it work. They are perfectly happy with just getting a meal or two a day or just one or two outfits to wear. They are content with what they have.This is something I have been pretty sheltered from my whole life.

I was a spoiled child. I was pampered with nice toys and clothes and I never thought about the
fact that there were other children in the world that didn’t even have a quarter of the things that I had.
I am much older now, and I have a much clear-er understanding of other people’s situations that are not as lucky as I am. I remember when I first was starting to learn about these things I felt an extreme amount of guilt. From that point on I decided that I was going to make an effort to be a better, more considerate person. I don’t need all these material things in order to be happy. “Money doesn’t buy happiness” after all. Neither do fancy shoes and purses.
If I continue with this never ending list of desires and that’s all I’m focused on, I will never be happy. I want to live my life without worrying about what I don’t have. I am going to look at what I do have and be grateful for all the things around me. I believe that my list of desires isn’t just going to vanish out of my mind. I will always want things, it’s human nature, but for now, I am content with not getting louboutin heels and a louis vuitton handbag. I will be fine with my converse and target purse.

Gabrielle Graham.