By Class Essayist Jack Signorello

Hello everyone. My name is Jack Signorello, and today I would like to talk about the greatest lesson that I learned from my time at Daniel Hand High School.

I learned about a lot of things in school: physics from Mr. Balantic, history from Mrs. Stott, and writing from Mrs. La Vista, for example.

And that stuff’s cool, I guess. But, the single most valuable thing that Daniel Hand has taught me and the one skill I hope to continue developing above all others as I move forward in life…is confidence.

I came into high school shy, insecure, and self-doubting. I blushed easily, had a terrible haircut, and avoided situations that I deemed too uncomfortable, such as raising my hand in class, trying new things I was not yet good at, and challenging those I disagreed with. Activities such as these were met with immediate embarrassment and a red, blushed face.

But as I’ve matured, I’ve begun to force myself to embrace uncomfortable situations and embarrassment.

I’ve realized that feeling incompetent or embarrassed is not something to hide from, but rather something to embrace. Each time I’ve forced myself from my comfort zone, I’ve forced myself to become confident.

I’ve delivered the morning announcements, announced at a baseball game, and am now giving this speech, which are all situations that would have made my freshman self tremble in fear.

Through years of leaving my comfort zone, I’ve forced myself to become calm in these environments.

But so what? I realize that not everybody here struggles with the same issues that I did.

Some people seem to have never felt shy in their entire lives: take Joe Mazzarella for example. But confidence goes beyond shyness.

Even the most outgoing people lack confidence in one area or another, whether it be as a leader, in their academics, or in social situations.

I promise, that by making ourselves uncomfortable, each and every one of us is capable of confidence in every aspect of our lives. As we move into the next chapter of life, it’s imperative that we all learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

So, take that scary class, send that stressful email, ask out that special someone, and make yourself heard. Looking back, you will not regret it.

To close, I’d like to share a quote from one of the most confident people in the world and one of my greatest inspirations, Kanye West, “Believe in your flyness…conquer your shyness.”

Congratulations Class of 2022 and thank you all for listening.