Teen Who Has Been Homeless For 12 Years Graduates As Valedictorian


“Courage isn’t always a roaring beast. It’s the voice whispering at the end of the day, “I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Get married to Anne Radmacher.

Perseverance and determination are the keys to success in life. The more we try, the better we become.

The odds are often stacked against us, and we fear there is no way out, but if we want to achieve our dreams, we must persevere, as Griffin Furlong, valedictorian of the First Coast High School Graduating Class of 2014, did.

As the top student in the class, he never missed an assignment. Many of Griffin’s friends and classmates were unaware that he had been homeless for the previous 12 years. During high school, he and his father slept in shelters and other people’s houses. Griffin’s father struggled to make ends meet after his mother died when he was seven, and the family lived on the streets.

Griffin worked really hard in class despite these obstacles.
Many people learned about his challenges from his valedictorian speech. They were shocked, to say the least. Griffin’s peers could not believe how challenging his life was.

“Giving up is not an option for this young man,” he said in front of over 500 people.

“I’ve lost count of how many sleepless nights I’ve spent alone on a chilly plastic mattress. As he told Good Times, “I cried thinking my existence would soon wash away so that I would not have to face the hardships of an apparently cruel world.”

“No matter how much I wanted to, I never gave up,” he said. All those who have come before me, please do not live a meaningless life. You know deep down that you have something to offer. You should never make excuses, whether you know it or not, especially when you have a loving family who will provide you with everything you need and want.”

While he was studying at Florida State University, he was offered a room to stay with his girlfriend’s family.

“I simply want to show people that it doesn’t matter what you’ve been through; you can do it.” “I never want to live that life again,” he told ABC News. “I don’t want to live like that, so I do everything I can to prevent it.”

He and his fiancée want to hold a scholarship for those who are going through the same hardships as them.

As Griffin said in an interview with TODAY.com, “Never give up.” “Never let anybody tell you that you can’t do something, because that’s what I’ve been taught all my life.” “People used to tell me I wasn’t smart, but today I’m at the top of my class.”

Source: thebl.com


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