hat tossing ceremony at graduation
Dear Graduate,
On this occasion we hear a lot, maybe too much, about perseverance and accomplishment. We endure cliche speeches about blank slates and new horizons. None of it is untrue. This is the perfect time to turn regrets into opportunities as you start afresh.
I hope you will use this time to SEE your life, not judge it. Resist the urge to reflect on how you could have been or should have been different. You have always been perfectly you. There are no mistakes. You may want to do things differently in the future and that’s okay. But let the reason be because you love who you’ve become and what you’ve learned – not because you dislike who you used to be.
Be proud if you’ve succeeded in the classroom or on the field. But be more proud if you’ve walked a path of integrity. Have you been a good friend? An honest worker? A helper? If you haven’t met with success in these ways, make this your new goal – to be a quality person in the world. Of all the things you’ve learned over many years, this is the most important. The world doesn’t care what you do – it has a job for everyone. But it does need you to bring the best you’ve got.
Value what you’ve been taught but give yourself permission to unlearn. Loosen your grip on core standards and cookie-cutter expectations. Embrace the freedom of greeting each new experience with an open mind and a generous heart.
Graduation is magnanimous but it is not the last ending nor the last beginning. You are an ever-evolving being in an every-changing world. Stay present. Let go. Savor each moment lest you miss your life.
Graduate, you have finished a chapter of your life. It was a big one. Remember that it was only part of your story. May your history inform your future only to the extent that it lends perspective on your choices.
I wish you success by your own measure; joy that cannot contain itself; and love that bursts forth from within you, reflecting in everything and everyone that surrounds you.
Chaos & Clarity 