27. Commencement Speech

Commencement Speech

This weekend both high schools in our county had their graduation ceremonies. I don’t have a kid graduating, but I still found myself getting a little teary-eyed. One of my favorite professors in college recently shared a quote that her family goes to at times like this and I’ve been turning it over and over in my mind since I read it. She said it was shared with her at her daughter’s graduation...from preschool, ”Transitions make us cry.” 

Watching all those beautiful and amazing people transition from high school to whatever comes next is emotional and right. Thinking about the speeches, singing, and proud families inspired me to write my own commencement speech. I would encourage you to think about writing one, too!

Well done, Class of 2020! What an amazing time to be alive! You have the unique distinction of having the graduation year that will never be forgotten.

As you prepare to transition into the next phase of your lives, I want to share some thoughts. I’m not a blue check mark personality, just a person like you, who has had some successes and some failures, some things that went really right and some things that went really wrong, and made some choices, that, looking back, have made ALL the difference. 

First, be grateful. I’m sure you have heard this advice before, but I encourage you to make it a daily habit. A gratitude habit has been scientifically proven to have benefits that include better sleep, better physical and psychological health, and enhanced empathy. Start a note in your phone and add three things everyday. After a year, go back and literally count your blessings, naming them one by one. 

Give experiences and people the top priority in your life over the accumulation of “stuff.” I have some stuff and it's really useful and comfortable. But, the memories of life aren’t made over purchases, but over moments. Take the trip, sit at the streetside cafe, go to the ballgames and plays, eat the local specialty, sit in wonder and amazement before the ocean, take a friend to coffee. Have a bias towards LIFE! As Jason Isbell so beautifully put it, “And I fight the urge to live inside my telephone, I keep my spirits high, find happiness by and by, If it takes a lifetime.”

Do things “future you” will thank you for. Stay out of debt, wear a helmet on your bike, invest in your 401k early and often, kick the sugar habit, call your mom once a week, learn to cook a signature dish, tip well, show kindness at every opportunity. Abraham Lincoln advised his listeners through the ages that,  “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most." 

Learn Endurance. Everyone knows that treadmill minutes are longer than regular minutes, but the perseverance is where the magic happens. Who knows but that one more minute of effort and endurance would put you right where you want to be. Winston Churchill gave an often misquoted commencement speech which included this thought: Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Finally, try to enjoy the ride. Dave Matthews reveals that “life is short, but sweet for certain.” Life is never perfect, but God is good and thankfully holds us to a standard of grace and not perfection. 

Enjoy the ride friends! As Oscar Wilde revealed  “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.” Get out there...and live!