It seems like an unnecessarily tortuous scenario in an already painful situation.

All before one step has taken place in a graduation ceremony.

There is a dirty little secret when it comes to graduation time that not many people talk about. While this time of year is supposed to be a release from the hard work, long hours and hectic pace of high school, it can end up being just as stressful.

There are the gowns, the photos, the awards, the lack of awards, the parties and the marching practices, just to name a few items off the list.

This was supposed to be it, right? The end? Of work? (At least for the moment.)

But for the handful of students fortunate (or unlucky, depending on their nerves) enough to be speaking at their graduation, the stakes are high.

It's a lot like any great heist movie – there's always one last make-or-break "big" score before riding off into the sunset.

"It's a big responsibility to be able to formally say goodbye to my class," said Courtney Mazur.

Mazur, Falmouth High School's salutatorian, said it's the subject that can make a speech a strange high-pressure/no-pressure situation.

Mazur said she decided to talk about how her peers will be perceived in the future and how that will be determined by the choices they make.

In some ways high school is a bubble, where everyone knows each other and their stories. In the world outside, that's not going to be the case, she said.

"We have to convey the person we want to be seen as," she said. "We can't assume people know who we are."

Falmouth's seniors take the long walk June 14, so she's got some time left to think.

"It's mostly done," she said. "But I'll definitely be doing some tweaking (this) week."

Westbrook High School's graduation takes place Wednesday, and valedictorian Hilary Perrey's speech is almost locked.

Once she found inspiration – in Greg Mortenson's book "Three Cups of Tea" – the speech fell into place, she said.

The story of Mortenson's attempt to climb the world's second-tallest mountain and build a school in a Pakistani village felt right because it's about challenges, she said.

Perrey said the Class of 2009 needs to be ready to face adversity because it's not a matter of if it comes, but how soon.

Adam LaViolet, the honor essayist at Westbrook, is still a few drafts away from his finished product. LaViolet said he's never had trouble reading other people's work in public. It's reading his own stuff that is tricky.

He's plenty confident in his essay and his abilities in front of a microphone. But that doesn't mean there won't be some nerves when the pomp and circumstance begins.

"My knees usually shake pretty bad," he said. "So I'll try to keep them under control."

Of course, the best part about graduation is when it really is all over with.

Casco Bay High School held its first graduation last Thursday night, and Marcy Angelo was its first student speaker.

Add on top of that a twisted ankle, a pair of high heels and her 5-foot frame barely clearing the podium.

No pressure.

"You have to do a great job. You have to be great or you screw it up," she said. "And that would have been the last thing everyone would remember me by."

Elected to the job by her peers, Angelo spoke about Casco Bay's journey from punch line to source of pride and the strides she and other students made along the way.

Since they were all in the same boat (sometimes literally at the expeditionary learning school), she knew she had to talk about how they and the school defied naysayers.

"It was a really brave choice to make (going to Casco Bay)," she said. "It's not considered popular or cool in any sense."

But in the long run it worked for her, not just in preparing her for college but also in expanding her eagerness for learning and self-discovery.

As...