Commencement

I have been holding back on this entry for a few weeks to make sure most, if not all, of the high school graduations have passed. Well I can't really hold back any longer so if you still have one forthcoming in your schedule, maybe stop reading now and come back later.

OK.

I can still remember the first graduation ceremony I attended. I'm not talking about those sketchy, "Yay! You're graduating kindergarten!" ordeals. I'm not even really talking about the sixth grade graduation, although I can remember mine and that almost counts. No, no. I'm talking actual pomp and circumstance. I was in both the band and choir in high school and so of course I took part in the graduation ceremony my freshman year. No one told me what to expect because, of course, it wasn't my graduation. No one told me commencement ceremonies are magical.

I can remember watching the soon-to-be graduates file in under cheesy garden trellises in their black polyester robes. The girls awkwardly clomping along because most of them had not learned to properly walk in heals yet and the guys just as awkward because they felt like they were wearing dresses over the dress pants and shoes that usually only saw the back of the closet. I can remember listening to the band play and thinking, "Wow, Pomp and Circumstance is really Pomp and Circumstance!" It was kind of thrilling.

But that wasn't even the magic. The magic occurred later when the commencement speaker took his position at the podium. He was a naval officer, I do not remember his name, but I remember his face. He talked about the adventure of life and why it's an important thing to live life to it's fullest potential. He explained to the graduates that another step in their lives was beginning and how much opportunity they held in their hands. I felt like a firework just before it explodes. When the choir sang, "You'll Never Walk Alone," the song that the choir performed at every James Madison High School graduation, I sang with extra fervor. I felt truly inspired by the prospect of such a magnanimous occasion.

That night I told someone that I was in love with graduations. They told me that when I had attended as many as they had, I wouldn't be so in love. I felt a little crestfallen because I didn't want the magic to ever go away.

It hasn't. I still love attending graduations. I love the pomp. I love the circumstance. I love the traditions and histories that are wrapped up into them. I pour over the program to read about them and I treasure the tingles that always come from great speakers delivering great messages well. Ironically, both my high school and college graduations had poor speakers, a fact which almost broke my heart.

You know where this is going. That's right, one of my life goal's is to be a commencement speaker. That hasn't actually always been the case, despite what you may think. In May of 2007 I attended UNCG's commencement to support and watch many of my friends receive the official words of wisdom. The sentences spilled forth from the lips of one Betty Ray McCain. She maintained a complete balance of perfect anecdotes that wrapped up her points and poignant moments that set them into your flesh with goose pimples. She could move you from laughter to tears and back to roaring laughter without any emotional hijacking, a true talent. Her message was also rooted in the fact that she has in fact lived, and continues to live, every word and belief she preaches each day of her life. So at about the middle point in her speech, when a friend leaned over to me and said, "that's you in fifty years!" I almost peed in my pants with excitement. To become a Betty Ray would truly be an accomplishment.

So if you've been to a graduation this year. I sincerely hope it filled you with the kind of hope and excitement for the future that the very word commencement embodies. If it did not, please go and find a speech to listen to that makes your view rosier. Especially if you've just graduated. Life is meant to be lived. Every moment is your chance to breathe a little deeper, love a little freer, and laugh a little longer.

Betty Ray McCain

J.K. Rowling's speech to Harvard grads