Following is the speech given by Joshua Maxwell Castañeda at Santa Margarita Leadership Academy's 8th grade graduation

I have become a better skater this year. I learned and am still learning new tricks and techniques. I learned how to fall and get back up without complaining. I've come to realize that skating is a lot like life; when you fall down, you have to get back up.

I fell many times this year, I even broke a bone or two, but I did not give up. I also learned to be more careful. One bad mistake or bad fall can take months to recover from.

In life we might make one big mistake but we can't let life take us down. In our old school, we all made poor choices to come here. When we got here, we had to make a choice. Either stay down, cry, and quit, or get back up, learn from our mistakes, and keep trying. It's not easy, but thanks to the help from Mr. Angulo, Mrs. Pfingsten, our classmates, and parents, we were able to get through this year.

But really, junior high is just practice, we are now moving to the pros. We are all going to have a fresh start in high school, and we will also face many new challenges. We will have higher ramps to jump, more stairs to clear, and harder tricks to perform. We have had eight years of practice, now it's time to show the world what we're really made of.

This year we learned to work hard and to be leaders in our own lives. I know that all of you can succeed in high school and follow your dreams. When you fall make sure to get back up and never let anything stop you from being successful. Thank you all and good luck in high school.