The first graduation of Rogers High School is taking place this week. The seniors are having a breakfast today, and I'm a little sad I cannot be there. I've written a letter to be read to them in my absence today.
Congratulations Graduates!
I wish I could be here in person to congratulate you, give hugs and tell you personally how proud I am of each one of you. But, alas, I am living in Scotland and unable to make the journey home. I did request to share a few thoughts with you by letter, to help celebrate and honour your magnificent accomplishment.
For most, if not all of you, Today is one of the most important days of your lives. Earning a diploma is a rite of passage; a passport to your dreams. As someone who “stamped” your passport, figuratively speaking, I would like to humbly stamp it one more time today with a few words of advice.
Today is one of the most important days of your lives. But, what’s more, and what I would like you to remember, is that Today is thee most important day of your life. Today potentially starts, continues and/or ends everything we do in life. It is a powerful concept to grasp, but it is worth the effort to understand it. Life is what you make it, one day at a time. I encourage you to use your ‘todays’ to shape your life by considering three simple ideas: Make life fun. Make life meaningful. Make life yours.
The older I get, the more I realize that, in my childhood and adolescence and threw my twenties, I worried too much about things I shouldn’t. I was overly concerned about things I couldn’t control, with material things or with my self-image; it left me blind to much of life; it devalued my ability to shape my future and the things I could control; it prohibited the actualization of my gifts becoming talents, of strangers becoming friends and my curiosity becoming knowledge.
Growing up, it was always my opinion, that—
- I had to grow up with less stuff than other kids.
- I had a family that wasn’t as “normal” as other families.
- I had to endure more teasing from class mates than others did.
- I had to struggle to figure out who was I more than other people.
- I had to work harder than others to get what I wanted.
- Therefore, I was apt to have less fun, less of a chance of making a difference, and less chance of doing what I wanted to do.
Hindsight has shown me that these statements were not true. I tell you this today, hopefully to bring you to that realization sooner that I got there. The lessons I learned whilst trying to figure out that these perceptions were not true—looking outward for answers instead of looking inward, taught me that I make life what it is; life or other people’s views of my life, doesn’t make me.
My childhood and adolescence served as a context for my future. At times it was quite challenging: dealing with loss, fear, emotional grief and physical pain. At times it was rewarding: friendships, nurturing mentors, celebrations and coming of age. What’s vital to keep in mind is that it is all in the past. Take the lessons and the good things from the past and leave the bad. I cried and grew from adverse situations as much as I laughed and learned from favourable ones. Furthermore, I learned how much I needed both to be who I am today.
I see the present as just that, a gift. In order to honour how special that gift is, I need to do something special with that gift, each day. So, I prioritize my days based on what I value—the solitude of a good book, the companionship of talking with a friend, the ambition of working long hours on a teaching career I love dearly, or the recognition I receive when I see the smiling faces of people whose lives I’ve touched. And as I get older, I appreciate the importance of having a balance of each of these.
I look into my future and I realize more everyday that the choices I make today impact the opportunities I will have tomorrow. One day at a time, I make many choices tiny and great that lead me into the future that I want. So, each day, in small ways and great ones, I choose to make it fun, I make it meaningful, and I make it mine.
The author Elbert Hubbard once said, “A school should not be a preparation for life. A school should be life.” School has been your life for almost 15 years. You have learned a great deal about life and tools you will need to get along. Friendships have emerged, providing great joy and, at times, sorrow. Yearbooks have been filled with fun and funny memories. Exams have been taken; you were all surely hardened by the ebb and flow of test-taking angst and relief. This was school. This was your life. The lessons, the knowledge gained in and out of the classroom, have provided you the context of who you are; the substance to continue your journey. You are about to embark on a new path; you will start a new school and continue life as an adult. So please, with all your passions, creativity, wit and energy, take every today and make life fun, make it meaningful and make it what you want it to be, because you can.
Congratulations and all the best,
Mr. Johnson
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