Congratulations to so many of you who have persevered to
this great milestone in your lives. I am
sure I speak for many of you when I say, “HALLELUJAH!” Of course, today, many
of you in this graduating class will not be listening to this message. But I don’t blame you. You are too busy Tweeting[1], Skyping[2], Googling[3], Instagraming[4], FACEBOOKING[5], and if
nothing else, take photos of you and your classmates at this very exciting time
in your life. I am not mad you and I
don’t blame you. This is your day. You’ve earned
it, and no one, including the likes of me, is going to stand in your
way. Today, you will receive your
diplomas/degrees. Can we get another
HALLELUJAH!?
Bee Movie Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jnMdWESoVg
With all the important things that you will have to think
about going forward, I thought to myself, what would be an important question
to ask you that would hopefully make you ponder, and perhaps, never forget
today? Not because of me, the speaker,
but today-your day of graduation. I know
that you are waiting for the illustrious moment when you will receive this
coveted document, this specially laden draft that will no doubt read, words to
this effect:
In recognition of the
successful completion of the requisites and on nomination of this university,
on this day of May, 2013, by virtue of their authority, hereby confers
upon your name the Bachelor of Science,
etc,
With all the honors,
rights, and priviledges thereto pertaining.
Given on this day of
May, in the 2013. [6]
Strangely, enough, I can’t remember those words without
reading them over and over again. The
words that seem to carry the most weigh however, are these:
With all the honors,
rights, and privileges thereto pertaining.
These words convey a tremendous amount of inspiration. These words send a message to the world, that
the bearer of this document, has met
all of the requirements necessary to reach this
point in their lives, and that on this
day, the bearer of this instrument is hereby declared to be the recipient
of their High School Diploma; of their Bachelor’s Degree; of their Master’s
Degree; of their Doctorate Degree; of their Jurist Doctorate Degree, of their Certification
in their respective field, or even, their Honorary Doctorate. On this
day, you are receiving one of the most distinguished honors in education,
recognition for having completed your courses, and responsibilities to go
forward in your lives.
Congratulations! Now, what are
you going to do with this highly coveted symbol of academic achievement? May I make a suggestion? Wait for it----------- Wait for it---------- Heeeeeere
it issssssss:
SIT ON IT![7]
For those of you who may have a fond recollection of the
Fonz from Happy Days[8], the
intent here is literal, not figuratively, or in anyway derogatory. Nor, is this in anyway an opportunity to
disrespect your achievements as graduates, but I think it is only fair to add
this suggestion to the many ways in which many of you will eventually handle,
or mishandle, this great instrument that will be conferred upon you. Why would I suggest you SIT ON IT? Maybe I am generalizing, but for the most
part, where do most of us put our Diplomas/Degrees? We either frame them on the shelf where it
often gets pushed to the back of the graduation pictures, the wedding pictures,
the newborn babies (aren’t they cute?), or, or, we put our hard-earned
documents in a drawer, only to be boxed and shipped to a storage facility,
until, or unless we get an office to post it for all the world to see.
Otherwise, this document, which so many of us have crammed
the night before a big test for, or that some of us, who shall remain nameless,
looked on our neighbor’s paper and copied not only their answers but their
names, are now willing to take this valuable instrument and put it not only to
the back of our shelves, or in the back of our drawers (not funny), but also to
the back of our minds. Forget the fact
that we were forced by Mrs. Hard-hearted Birch in 5th grade to learn
our 2 and 3 times tables over and over again.
Let’s not forget about Coach Wash-his-mouth-out-with-soap Burns who made
us take first-aid when we wanted to play basketball during gym. And who could forget Ms.
Fail-you-or-die-trying Miller math teacher who seemed to have no life because
she always opened the class with those dreaded 4 words: “Take out a pen and
paper for a short quiz”? Okay, I wasn’t
good at math, thus the hatred for quizzes.
So, when you think about what you are going to do with your
Diplomas/Degrees, maybe you are justified in hiding your Diplomas/Degrees. Maybe they bring back bad memories. My bad for calling them back up.
But in all seriousness, I ask that you think about something
else, given the hard work that you have put into what so few people are
privileged to do- and that is to sit where you are today. It was no small feat, and I don’t want you to
forget it. Think about the following:
The Boston
Hurricane Isaac [10]
Hurricane Sandy
Gun Control [13]
The Sequester [14]
The Fertilizer Explosion in West, Texas Kevin Williams
Sanders, victim [15]
The Hadiya Pendleton, victim, 15 year-old student killed after
the inauguration [17]
9-11 and Lt. Michale Scott Lamana, victim B.R. LA [18]
Hurricane Katrina- Mantelean Barker, survivor, [19]
The First Black President of the United States
Perhaps, and maybe, not one of these events, or any similar
events affect you knowingly, or have affected you, directly. But they are events that have happened in my
lifetime. Some of them hit close to
home, directly (Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Isaac), some of these events hit
close to home spiritually (The Boston Bombing, Hurricane Sandy, The Newtown
Shooting, The Tsunami in Japan, the killing of the 15 year-old student in
Chicago), others hit home from a daily standpoint (The Sequester, 9-11, The
First Black man to become President of the United States). What role my diplomas/degrees played in any
of these events, I can’t say with any certainty.
But I believe strongly, that by having a diploma/degree, I
am able to have a better perspective of circumstances as outlined above. I believe that there are many among us, who,
having met the objectives of acquiring today’s instrument, are more ready to
address circumstances such as those mentioned above. I believe that many who, like you today, who
have already received this prestigious honor, their perspectives are broad enough to see the
big picture, whereby they are able to put together goals and objectives to help
guide their communities in the event of the situations as these.
From a Distance-Better Midler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASbmV_8RkGI
I believe that by this instrument, for which you shall receive
today, that you will be able to exercise a perspective narrow enough to
empathize, uplift and encourage those whose very lives maybe impacted by these
types of tragedies, that you maybe able to inspire your family, friends and
community in the face of tragedy. With this instrument, with this conveyance, that
you will not be changed from the loving and caring persons that you have always
been, but instead, augmented by those things which have shaped the loving and
caring people that you are. That if nothing else, this instrument does not
compel you to believe that you better than anyone else, but that you are better
for accepted the challenges that resulted in it being awarded to you.
With this instrument,
that is bestowed upon you today, I hope that you will take it, treasure it, and
appreciate it for all that it symbolizes, whether you frame it and put on a
shelf, hang it upon a wall, put it in your desk and file it away, or…..
Wait for it------------:
SIT ON IT!
If you choose to sit on it, use your degree very well, as a
cushion at your dinner table; use it
well in your den as a cushion in your favorite chair. If you choose to sit on this instrument of
achievement, use it to sit on by placing it in your cars with their heated
leather seats for those long cold drives through Chicago
As I close, let nothing that you do from this day forth ever
keep you from becoming the outstanding person that you have always been, or
will ever come to be.
Congratulations to your parents, families and friends. Congratulations to your teachers, and
professors for having brought you through these trying times that our world
continues to present to us all. Congratulations
to the Graduating Class of 2013, and may you all forever be successful. Best wishes.
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