It’s graduation season, which means there will be lots of wise words from commencement speakers.

However, one commencement speaker has gone viral for the speech she gave to her students. Lydia Owens, valedictorian of Woodmont High School in Piedmont, South Carolina, courageously included her Christian beliefs in her address.

She opened her speech, like many others, by describing adversity and how she overcame it to get to where she is today.

“You are so much more than how well you perform,” she remarked. “What happens when you fail if you base your identity on what you achieve and believe you are only good enough if you succeed?” Owens inquired. “What happens when you don’t have a lot of money or a lot of friends?”

Owens told WHNS that her mother was her biggest influence and that she “always encouraged me in my faith.”

“It’s because of her that I have such strong faith.” She was an example of how to be a godly lady and how to purposefully love people.”

The adolescent went on to say that after losing her mother, her view of accomplishment “dramatically changed because I realized the many years I spent placing my worth in my academics meant absolutely nothing in eternity.”

Lydia’s graduation speech was not your standard valedictorian speech, but I enjoyed it! It provided a new perspective on the meaning of success and the amount of pressure we place on ourselves to achieve it.