Some people have passion about something,

while others feel passionate towards a particular thing in their life.

My passion is the pursuit of excellence.

From a young age I was taught that to succeed in life

you have to find something you love and follow that dream.

At the age of three I was placed in my first ballet class,

and this is where my passion began.

One of the first things that you are taught to do in dance was to skip.

Now, skipping seems so easy.

You hop on one foot; you hop on the other.

But to young and uncoordinated children, this is a really terrifying experience.

After hours of practicing around my house

I finally mastered the art of skipping.

The feeling of accomplishment that I had at this moment of my life

is what continues to motivate me to this day.

That's why I am willing to train so hard at my dance studio day and night

and to wake up early hours in the morning to finish school work.

I love the feeling of succeeding and excelling in everything that I do.

OK, so my passion is the pursuit of excellence.

Great, but how does this affect all of you?

Well, what I am here to share with you today

is what I have found to be the keys to success.

Pursuing your own excellence means putting passion

behind everything that you do.

Anyone is capable of excelling

through hard work, determination and effort.

If you display these three traits

and if you focus at the task in hand,

I promise you, you will be able to succeed

in anything you want to do in your life.

Now this may mean missing out on some leisurely activities

that we all like to do.

But I promise you that you will look back on your accomplishments

and realize that these had impacted you so much more

than that TV show you would have watched

or the computer game you would have played.

When I was a junior in high school,

college planning is something that's a major part of my life.

I've found that because I've pursued my own excellence throughout my childhood.

I have many opportunities as to what path I can take in my future.

Dance has been an integral part of my life from a young age

and clearly exemplifies how I pursue my own excellence.

I want to share with you today

the product of my hard work and determination thus far in my life.

I hope that you take from this

the inspiration to pursue your own excellence.

Thank you.

(Music)

(Applause)