A South Carolina high school graduate’s speech has gone viral for encouraging her classmates to reframe how they define success.
While speaking at her graduation ceremony, Lydia Owens, valedictorian and senior class president at Woodmont High School, told her fellow graduates that their future accomplishments should not be the measuring stick.
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“Even if you accomplish all of your dreams or none of them at all, you are still valuable, and you are still good enough because you are made in the image of God,” Owens said.
Owens explained that when her mother died two years ago, she realized neither her academic success nor her other accomplishments were what gave her value.
“When everything else in my life felt uncertain, the only person I could depend on to stay the same was Jesus,” she told her classmates.
Owens told WHNS that her mother was a strong role model of faith in her life.
“She’s the reason I have such a strong faith,” Owens said. “She wanted me to be my best, and she wanted me to keep going.”
In her final words to her class, the valedictorian encouraged them, saying: “You don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll be successful because God promises that his grace is sufficient for us and that his power is made perfect in our weaknesses.”
Owens said the response to her speech has been overwhelming and positive.
Video of Owens’s speech has been widely shared across social media, with one post drawing more than 40,000 views.
I was in attendance & was blown away at her boldness in truth. I was admittedly surprised, but also thrilled she was permitted to have all of it in her speech. When she started talking about however you define success will leave you empty, I thought - go girl. Overheard: “preach”
— Sarah N Dipity (@fitchen) June 2, 2023
Those in attendance commented that they were impressed by her boldness.
“I was in attendance & was blown away at her boldness in truth,” one person tweeted. “I was admittedly surprised, but also thrilled she was permitted to have all of it in her speech. When she started talking about however you define success will leave you empty, I thought — go girl.”
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“Bold leaders like her is what gives me hope for this world!” another tweeted. “Well done!”
She reportedly plans to attend Anderson University in the fall and major in elementary education.