A Message to the
Graduating Class of
To the President of Delgado, Faculty and Staff, parents,
families, friends and of course, to the graduating class of Delgado Community College Delgado
Community College
I can’t help but feel a little nostalgia as I think of my
own graduation from Delgado
Community College
Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it
crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit
takes their place. ~Mark Twain[3]
Thanking those who
made a difference in your life.
If everyone had an opportunity to thank those who helped
them in their various quests at a graduation, we maybe surprised who may get
thanked. I wouldn’t be surprised if the
pizza guy/gal got a nod. And of course,
you would have to thank the mechanic who seemed to always be able to fix your
car (while its on its last leg) for next to nothing because you didn’t have
enough to rent or buy a car. And while we are at it, maybe along with thanking
moms and dads and aunts and uncles, we might want to thank old Suzie or Betsy
(the car) out there who seemed to always come through to get you to school.
Thanking those who made a difference in our lives, while we
were on the road to achieving our personal goals that others would seem to have
the least benefit, is very important, and so I know that many of you graduates,
can’t wait to send an email, text, or a Facebook post to those great people who
helped you in some seemingly small, but significant way, to achieve your goal
of graduating today.
No, it’s not a Hollywood award, but it’s yours
While you are not receiving an Oscar or a Golden Globe
award, you are receiving something in recognition for your hard work. And, it’s
yours. You are receiving a very important document that signifies that you
crammed, overslept, spilled your energy drink on your take home test, and, if
nothing else, you sat in the wrong class at least one time or another before
you realized, whoa, you were in the wrong class.
The document that you are about to receive, signifies that
you finally realize that the high school diploma that you may have used as a
lining for a birdcage, or maybe made a paper airplane out of, is important. And, that you will not make the same mistake
with this document.
The document that you will receive today, signifies that you
raised your hand with one of those intellectual questions, that even until
today, your instructor is still baffled by, because it was a scheduled exam. What was your question? “Does anyone have a pen or pencil?” This question was able to shut down a class for
all of 2 minutes, as you waited impatiently for someone else to produce a pen
because your pen was left in your car, or didn’t write. Nevertheless, you pressed on, and passed that
class with flying colors. Why all of
this suggestion of silly things? Well
quite frankly, it is in complete contrast to so many things that you endured, caused
or went through in order to get to this point to be a graduate of Delgado Community College
It would be a terrible miscarriage of justice if each one of
you would stand before God and man and say that nothing ridiculous happened
during your 2 or 3 year tenure. It would
be unfair to those who are coming immediately behind you to think that you were
able to achieve your respective degrees or certificates without the most
ridiculous things happening in the world, to you. Why is this important?
This is important because when added up, those ridiculous
things were life’s way of discouraging you, and/or preparing you. Those ridiculous things, such as your car
battery going out the very day you had to be at school to take a quiz, or that
time you were caught in traffic when you had a very important lecture to
attend, was nothing short of ridiculous.
And the fact that you can’t laugh at it now, means you are in shock. It’s possible that you can’t believe that
with all that you went through, those incidents, although not apart of the
curriculum you signed up for, were very much apart of the norm of achieving
something worthwhile. And despite all of that, you are now in shock that you
made it to this point-a 2013 graduate.
You are in shock because you are at this point in your life, despite all
of the ridiculous things that were thrown in your way. Congratulations!
Through humor, you can soften some of the
worst blows that life delivers. And once
you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can
survive it.
Bill Cosby [4]
Well, I am honored to be one of those proud people to let
you know, that your achievement is real.
You can relax for the moment, because the fact that your printer
cartridge stopped working at the most ridiculous time, still did not stop you
from pursuing this coveted instrument. I
am sure that among you, 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning has a very significant
meaning to you. We will not go into
details, let’s just let it go at that. Regardless
of what you went through, you were not thwarted in your efforts to be here
today, even when you could not find a babysitter along the way, or when your
child caught a bad cold, and you had to make alternative arrangements. You found a way to make it through the
toughest times, and in some cases the most ridiculously-positioned
circumstances. You made it, and if you
hadn’t laughed at those ridiculous instances then, here is your chance. This is your chance to have a proverbial last
laugh at fate, because you made it through the tough times like it was nobody’s
business. And for your efforts, you
deserve to let go. You deserve to laugh.
8 Health Benefits of Laughter-
If you are not sure how to laugh at those times when life
tried to sink your boat, or take the wind out of your sails, here is your
chance. Take a deep breath, and remember
the times when your boss couldn’t let you get off work early to study, but you
still aced the exam! Give me a big HA!
Now, get ready for another big HA! When you think about the
fact that you had a paper due and you didn’t think that you had the time to
start it, let alone finish it because work was demanding, you still had to keep
the house clean, put the car in the shop, or help other members of the family,
but you finished your paper and still got a winning grade. Give me a big HA-HA-HA!
Laughter is the Best Medicine-The Health Benefits of Humor
and Laughter
And maybe, you have a few ha-ha’s for every time you checked
your work schedule, it seemed to conflict with the times that you needed to
have off to get to class. But you found
that you had a supportive instructor who was understanding and made a way for
you; or you had a supportive manger who
made adjustments in your work schedule because you agreed to work extra without
pay, or you found a classmate who took notes for you because you were running
late, or couldn’t make it to class. HA-HA,
HA-HA-HA! Whatever it was, whatever it
took, you made it here today. And today,
you have the opportunity to laugh at those things that practically threw
themselves across your path to success.
Laugh, and know that your laughter is the final measure of the success
you have to enjoy from this day forth, for now.
HA-HA-HA-HA! AHHHHH-HA-HA-HA!
Medical Benefits of Laughter-Video-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCrcFcfp-Mg[7]
Are you laughing yet?
But the laughter does not stop once you receive your
certificate or degree. I ask that you
never stop laughing. Why? Because life is not through throwing
obstacles in your way. And for that
reason, you need to be ready to laugh. You need to be ready to give a hardy
HAR-HAR, even as life throws trees across your roadways, laugh, and laugh
again. Even as life sends mountains of
mudslides on top of your dreams, prepare to laugh in the face of all that life
is known to do, to slow you down, if not bring you to a complete halt in the
pursuit of all that you hold dear.
Everybody laughs
the same in every language because laughter is the universal language. Yakov
Smirnof [8]
Continue to laugh, going forward, even as tears will well up
into the corners of your eyes, because one disappointment after another will appear
to be the norm. Laugh, because through
it all, you will find that life, despite seeming to be unfair, is preparing you
for one of its greatest adventures.
Laugh, even as you suffer through pain and anguish for at times it will
seem almost personal. Laugh, because you
won’t believe that anyone else could possibly be going through the things that
you are going through in your life. I
can assure you, that you will not be alone.
But, if you want to be alone, laugh.
HAAAAAA-HA-HA, WHOOOOO-YEAAAAH, BABY!
From the 100’s of resumes that you will submit, to the few job
interviews that will seem to have all been for naught, I encourage you to
remain positive. I encourage you to
smile. And know that although life may
unfairly seem to be filled with bowls of lemons, you are now greatly prepared, because
you truly know not just how to make lemonade proverbially, but
realistically. Know that the lemons that
life is handing you are the beginning of a new-found wealth of goal-setting,
and achievement. While life will hand to
you bowls and bowls of lemons, you can receive them with a heart-felt fondness
for the challenges that they represent.
Today, you are ready, and there is practically nothing in life that you
will not be able to approach with an attitude of confidence. But wait, your best laugh is yet to come.
Save the Best Laugh
for Last
Let’s not get so caught up in our laughter that we forget
all that we have learned. Let’s not be
so confident in our success that we forget one very important thing. We have to always be mindful of one of the
most important things of all:
We are to never quit learning.
Once we quit learning, it will be very difficult to
laugh. We will not be able to laugh
through our tears, because life will have its way with us. We will not be able to laugh if technology
leaves us in its wake. We will not be
able to laugh if we are not informed about what our communities' needs are; We will not be able to laugh if we are
spending more than we make. We will not
be able to laugh if we are not taking good care of ourselves and our
families. We must always be about
learning about everything that is vital to our continued success. And as long as we are learning, as long as we
are informed, we cannot only smile, but we can laugh, and have the last laugh,
despite how life constantly tries to put a frown on our faces and our
lives. So laugh today, but laugh sparingly. Because, we will still have enough
opportunities to laugh going forward. We want to get to that point where we have our
best laugh. How?
Laughter
gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and
then move on.
Bob
Newhart [9]
The best laugh comes as a result of how we approach the many
challenges that are yet to befall us.
Yes laugh, but laugh constructively. Laugh with confidence.
But laugh with dignity. Laugh
with confidence, but do not laugh with arrogance, or insolence. Laugh at yourself in your downfalls, but be
supportive of others in their shortcomings.
You know how important that is.
For if you are known to put a smile on the face of others in the midst of
their pain, by showing how you laugh off similar shortcomings for
yourself, you will win a friend for
life. Laugh at your misery, laugh at
your challenges. Laugh at those who
discourage you. Laugh at those who stand
in your way. Because, you have been prepared
for so many great opportunities and you are ready to move on. Laugh. Have a good laugh. Have a great laugh. But tomorrow, you must get back to a very
important part of your life, and that is, to prepare for your best laugh.
Yes, you should smile.
Yes, you should be positive, but save the next big laugh, your best
laugh, for when you will have accomplished your greatest goal, whatever that
maybe. Because whatever it maybe, you
will have had the last laugh, and no doubt, your best laugh.
Today, if you have reached your final destination as your receive your dipolma or certificate of completion, this is
your opportunity for your best laugh. Like
a connection between planes, and trains, this is your stop! In that case, laugh
your fool heads off! Laugh! Laugh! Laugh! Get it all out! HA-HA-HA-HA! Congratulations and much success
to each of you.
Going forward-Laugh
But for those of you who are going further, to destinations
beyond, your best laugh is yet to come. Save that best laugh, if you have yet
to achieve all that your goals dictate. Save your best laugh for the
completion of your Bachelor’s Degree; your Master’s Degree; your Doctorate, or
your Jurist Doctorate. If you are
continuing on from here today, save your best laugh for that acceptance letter for
the NFL; the NBA; the Olympics; that
trip abroad; the military; that corporate position; that medical position; that
business position, or whatever goals you may have set. Save your best laugh until
then. It will be hard, but it will be well
worth it. Like your applause, please
hold it, and contain yourselves with just small bursts of laughter, peppered
throughout your challenges, just enough, to get you through the many challenges
ahead. It will do you all the good.
But in closing, I do wish for all of you the very best. Congratulations from an alum who can’t forget
the excitement of attaining his first degree from Delgado Community College Delgado Community College
Wayne Dan Lewis, ’82, ‘83
Disclaimer: Information provided here is deemed to be
from reliable sources, but not guaranteed.
Please consult your respective professional if you have any questions or
concerns.
[1] Delgado
Community College- http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2013/12/delgado_community_college_will_1.html
[2] Sidney
Bartholomew- City Council At Large- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Barthelemy
[8] Yakov Smirnof- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/laughter.html
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