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GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A recent Upstate graduate is going viral for the speech she gave to her senior class.
Lydia Owens, valedictorian and senior class president at Woodmont High School, shared her hardships and opened up about her faith in her graduation speech.
“No matter what your future holds, please remember that your life is so much more than how successful you are, 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.
In the three minute speech , Owens spoke on how her decade-long definition of success was redirected two years ago.
“I had that reality check almost two years ago when my mom passed away,” Owens said. “When tragedy struck my life, it wasn’t my grades nor my success that helped me navigate through that loss. When everything else in my life felt uncertain, the only person I could depend on was Jesus.”
Owens said her mom was her biggest inspiration in life.
“She always pushed me to be my best self and always encouraged me in my faith,” Owens said. “She’s the reason that I have such a strong faith. She was the example of how to be a Godly woman and how to love people intentionally.”
Owens encourages those around her, despite the hardship's life brings.
“I don’t want anyone to say wow Lydia, you did a great job. Yes, I said the words but that was God speaking through me.”
Owens will be going to Anderson University in the fall where she plans to major in elementary education.
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