One of my best friends in high school (a long time ago!) was the covaledictorian. IMO she accomplished this (this is something you can always be proud of!) mostly through hard work. Of course she was not unintelligent--but there were likely some people in our high school who had higher IQs yet were not able to get such high grades for a variety of reasons. From my POV, that friend (the covaledictorian) has really thrived. She appears to have a good marriage, significant friendships, a job, etc.--I got to know her well in high school and her intelligence was only a small factor in this success.

Can you make a joke about your anxiety? For instance--was there a time you overprepared to excess (made extreme sacrifices) and it was unnecessary? IMO anxiety can be good when we channel correctly. It's also bad if your anxiety is giving you writer's block. I recommend running or taking a walk when you have writer's block.

After you get this speech written and done--just really enjoy it. You deserve to celebrate this extraordinary accomplishment!!!