Good morning seniors. What a beautiful day to graduate from high school. I am very honored to be speaking here today at your graduation. And I can kinda guess why you asked me to be your graduation speaker. Exactly 17 years ago I sat where you are sitting, exactly. On May 28th 1994, I graduated from Niwot High School, I sat on this football field and wore my green and white tassel. It was and is my dad's birthday, happy birthday, dad. And every year it is a memory that I turn back to as for the last 8 years I have come back to this football field for other Niwot students' graduations. Each year I sit here and get a little misty-eyed when the band plays Pomp and Circumstance as everyone walks out onto the field. I get to relive that memory because I teach at the same high school I graduated from. Huh. Well, now I know why you asked me to be the graduation speaker, I have become your cautionary tale. You want to know how you can prevent this fate from happening to you. Yes students, in 17 years you could be the teacher speaker for the Niwot High Senior class of 2027. You'd better start writing your speech.
I remember very few details of my graduation day. It was a little overcast and all kinds of exciting. I don't remember who spoke (which doesn't bode well for me today) but I do remember our class song, “Walk on the Ocean” by Toad the Wet Sprocket. The lyrics of this song are incomprehensible to me. “Walk on the ocean, step on the stone, flesh becomes water, wood becomes bone.” What does that even mean? Is it a message about skin care? Is it about trying to get people to walk more often? Our unofficial song, “Chattahootchie” by Alan Jackson was a little more direct. If you don't know the song, the chorus goes like this, “Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee /Never knew how much that muddy water meant to me/ But I learned how to swim and I learned who I was/ A lot about livin' and a litttle 'bout love”. Yes, Niwot was a bit countrified back in the day. And even though the Chattahoochee river is nowhere near Niwot, Colorado. I like that last part, I learned who I was, a lot about livin and a little bout love.
I asked some friends and family what I should tell you today. My mom said that you should get off the internet and go be with real people. My dad said you should get rid of your cable, it is a huge waste of time. I would say the same about Angry Birds, if you get it, be prepared to watch hours of your life disappear. My friend Jen said that when you're scrounging for quarters for the laundromat, you should call your mother and thank her for washing your socks, folding them and putting them away. My friend Shannon, who is living at the south pole right now for the winter advised that you should always wear underwear.
On a more contemplative note, my aunt Martha said that you should savor the kernels of hope that launch you beyond the banal of everyday life. My friend Kara said that you should decide what a beautiful life means to you and then go out and live it. My friend Amy said that you will always have opportunities to reinvent yourself, just like Lady Gaga, even when you're old like my parents.
I think all of those messages can be simplified into one idea; you have to go out and live. The experiences you will go through will help you clarify who you are, what you want, and how you live. Go out and live, or as the crew of Star Trek would say, “boldly go where no one has gone before”.
Today is a testament to your “book learning”, but what you'll remember most about high school are the moments that only happened once that can't be recreated. You know those moments; that time you laughed so hard your sides hurt, the moment you felt proud of yourself for accomplishing something so difficult, the incident that left you heartbroken, calling your friends for solace. We learn through all our experiences, good and bad. We learn more about communicating when we have disagreements with others, we learn more about our work ethic when we need money to buy something, we learn more about love when we sit and wait for Gerard Butler to call us. We can read about these feelings and character traits in books and of course in Oprah's magazine, but the only way we learn about living is when we go out and live.
I thought a lot today about songs that express this idea of going out and living. There are literally hundreds of popular graduation songs; from the cheesy to the obscure. The song you chose, “Send me on my Way”, by Rusted Root is a great song, it really highlights this idea of going out and living. Despite the fact that it was written in the 90's before you were born, it tells you to get on out of here, you have places to go and people to meet.
The unfortunate part of this weekend is that it will end. The parties will be over, the cake will be eaten, the gift cards will be opened and spent and then it will be Tuesday. Then what? Well, first write those thank you notes, because they don't write themselves. Then face the unexpected with openness, don't be afraid of what the next day may bring. It could be good, it could be heartbreaking, but don't write the story before the day dawns, let tomorrow surpass your greatest expectations. As that famous line from the movie “Castaway” so aptly expresses, you never know what the tide will bring in. This day is just one day in your life, an important day, but truly only the beginning for you. Tuesday may feel kinda depressing, but you'll get through it. Don't let fear dictate your choices, keep looking forward hoping for the best to happen. I can't wait to see how your stories turn out. Congratulations, Class of 2011.
