Tuscarora HS Senior Highlights His Autism And Achievements

LEESBURG, VA — A graduating senior at Tuscarora High School, in a speech submitted to the office of Sen. Tim Kaine as part of the Virginia senator's "Everybody's the Graduation Speaker" video contest, says he used to think that his autism defined him. But Christian says his outlook on life changed when he saw "Rocketman," a 2019 movie based on the life of Elton John.

In his graduation speech, Christian reveals he doesn't talk about his autism much around friends because of its stigma.

"I used to think that my autism defined me," Christian says in the speech. "I felt that way up until last summer when I saw a film called 'Rocketman.'"

In the movie, Christian says there's a line that altered his perspective on life: "You have to kill the person you were born to be in order to become the person you want to be."

From that one line of dialogue, Christian says he realized what he had to do. "I needed to destroy the old me in order to become the person I always wanted to be. Rather than letting my autism control me, I would create my own path in life," he says in his speech.

Christian made new friends, sang with greater confidence in school performances and went to Homecoming. "In general, I am proud to say that I am following my path," the Tuscarora graduating senior says.

Christian's speech is one of the top speeches submitted by high school students across Virginia that Kaine has posted on his Facebook page and website. The Virginia senator posted Christian's speech on Wednesday. Kaine will be posting one high school senior's speech each day through the end of June.

With many in-person high school graduations postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus, Kaine encouraged Virginia's graduating high school seniors to submit a video of an original speech they would like to give at graduation.

Kaine said he felt a sense of loss for the graduates and wanted to give all high school seniors in Virginia the chance to be a graduation speaker.

"One of the many groups of Virginians I've been thinking about during this challenging time is the graduates of the class of 2020, many of whom won't have the graduation experience they've been planning for a long time," Kaine said in a statement.

Later on in his speech, Christian says that some of his classmates may not view making new friends or going to Homecoming as achievements. "Well, you're right. It's not a big achievement. For most people, it's not something you would call an achievement. They may not be major achievements, but they are my achievements. They show me that I have grown as a person."

Christian recalled how he was ridiculed by his peers as he was growing up. "If I listened to any of that 'constructive criticism' I received from them, I'm not even sure if I would be alive right now talking about my achievements," he says.

While he expresses relief that he didn't listen to the bullies, Christian also suggests that the changes he made in his life helped to "better" himself.

"If you just sit back, you won't experience what you're truly capable of," he says toward the end of his speech. "Change is not easy to deal with. However, we all have the power to be the best people we possibly can be."