Day 528 -- Graduation Speech
Today, I represented the teachers at WHS by giving a comencement speech. Here it is:)
Good afternoon, class of 2012 and congratulations on getting here, the day of your graduation from Western High School, a most extraordinary place.
You had extraordinary teachers, if I do say so myself. And not at all normal.
You have extraordinary community and parent support, which is not at all normal.
My message for you today is simple.
Please be abnormal.
When I was thinking/panicking about what to say today, I asked myself what in the world I had enough wisdom and experience to talk to you about. Weirdness came to mind, and I consider myself somewhat expert in that. So I went with it.
Because, I will be entirely honest with you right now. I don’t have the secret to living the Good Life. In fact, I have struggled my entire adult life with this very concept.
But, I’ve learned that maybe instead of the Good Life, what we should be striving for should really be the “Weird in a Good Way Life.”
Because, when you hear “The Good Life”, what does that mean?
and...Good according to whom?
Because the normal definition might include making lots of money, having lots of prestige, or diving a nice car...
...because these are all normal things. But my dream for you is that you will never, ever want to be normal.
Because while making lots of money and having prestige may sound great, striving to be normal may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. For example,
Normal is also unhealthy-- 70% of americans are overweight or obese, according to the CDC.
Normal is also financially unstable. According to Sallie Mae, undergraduates are carrying bigger credit card balances than ever and graduating with an average of 7,000 in credit card debt.
Normal is also divorced. Only 50% of marriages make it out of the first five years.
Normal is also just plain unhappy. A huge majority of Americans are unhappy with their jobs, the state of the country, or just unhappy in general. Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US.
Makes you wonder why anyone would want to be normal, doesn’t it?
So, it’s official. The Good Life cannot be a normal life.
To live the Good Life, you must first define it, and you must define it in a way that goes in direct opposition to what the rest of the world is telling you. In fact, don’t let any normal ideas of what is good influence your definition. Because, what do those normal people know, anyway? Look at where being normal got them?
If you defy what’s normal and and live life in a way that challenges the world’s perfectly normal expectations every day, you may change the very nature of the way that life is lived. But, I will warn you that doing this will never be the easiest option available to you. The best things never are. For example,
You could choose to be happy, no matter what your circumstances are.
You could assume responsibility for your actions instead of blaming others.
When someone deserves your anger, you could forgive them and move on with your life. You could refuse to hold a grudge.
You could love your family, and serve them above all else with your time and energy.
You could be totally honest about your real strengths and make the most of them. You could be totally honest about your real weaknesses. And then work on them.
You could try something new, knowing full well the odds are good you’ll fail.
You could listen to and express interest in others instead of talking about yourself.
You could dream big and follow those dreams with a passion, instead of dreaming.
Or not. That would be perfectly normal. But I think we already established how I feel about that.
I told you earlier that I faced my own personal struggle with normality. When I sat on this same stage 12 years ago, I had grand plans of going to Alma College to pursue a pre-medical degree and go on to medical school and eventually my own practice. I graduated with a 4.0. I earned a 34 on my ACT. I won a full-ride scholarship to Alma,. Everyone felt that this was a perfectly normal dream to have.
The only problem is that I didn’t really want to do that.
Somewhere around my junior year at Alma, I realized that my dream wasn’t to become a doctor. It was to teach. High School.
I fully expected my friends and family to throw up hands, clap, and click their heels in excitement over my revelation. Instead I was greeted with lots of raised eyebrows and “Are you sure’s?”
I was devastated.
Obviously, you know how this story ends, and I wish I could tell you that I once I decided to become a teacher, that I focused my efforts and never looked back at normal again, but that would be a lie.
It was hard to see the look of disappointment on people’s faces when they found out I was “just” going to be a teacher. It was gut-wrenching to get passed up by 6 different interview committees at high schools when I had already been accepted at three different medical schools. I was not and still am not given a lot of respect and admiration for being a high school teacher, and what I drive isn’t even close to what I once imagined I would as Dr. Sharp.
But, my Good Life is a “Weird in a Good Way Life”, and my dreams are not the dreams the world gave to me. They are my own.
It would be perfectly normal for you to take the world’s dreams and make them yours -- they certainly make for more impressive facebook statuses -- but if you take my advice you won’t do that.
In this delightfully weird time of both reflection on the past and anticipation of what’s to come, I would encourage you to, above all else, take some time to think about what the Good Life is. And be open to some weird ideas. Knowing you, class of 2012, this shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
If the world is telling you that your dreams aren’t worth pursuing or that your actions are abnormal, consider the source. And smile, because it’s only then that you’ll know you’re on the right path to A “Weird in a Good Way” life.
Class of 2012, on behalf of the Western High School staff, I wish you nothing but weirdness in your pursuit of the Good Life to come. Congratulations!
Lord, thank you for helping me give this speech today.
Good afternoon, class of 2012 and congratulations on getting here, the day of your graduation from Western High School, a most extraordinary place.
You had extraordinary teachers, if I do say so myself. And not at all normal.
You have extraordinary community and parent support, which is not at all normal.
My message for you today is simple.
Please be abnormal.
When I was thinking/panicking about what to say today, I asked myself what in the world I had enough wisdom and experience to talk to you about. Weirdness came to mind, and I consider myself somewhat expert in that. So I went with it.
Because, I will be entirely honest with you right now. I don’t have the secret to living the Good Life. In fact, I have struggled my entire adult life with this very concept.
But, I’ve learned that maybe instead of the Good Life, what we should be striving for should really be the “Weird in a Good Way Life.”
Because, when you hear “The Good Life”, what does that mean?
and...Good according to whom?
Because the normal definition might include making lots of money, having lots of prestige, or diving a nice car...
...because these are all normal things. But my dream for you is that you will never, ever want to be normal.
Because while making lots of money and having prestige may sound great, striving to be normal may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. For example,
Normal is also unhealthy-- 70% of americans are overweight or obese, according to the CDC.
Normal is also financially unstable. According to Sallie Mae, undergraduates are carrying bigger credit card balances than ever and graduating with an average of 7,000 in credit card debt.
Normal is also divorced. Only 50% of marriages make it out of the first five years.
Normal is also just plain unhappy. A huge majority of Americans are unhappy with their jobs, the state of the country, or just unhappy in general. Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US.
Makes you wonder why anyone would want to be normal, doesn’t it?
So, it’s official. The Good Life cannot be a normal life.
To live the Good Life, you must first define it, and you must define it in a way that goes in direct opposition to what the rest of the world is telling you. In fact, don’t let any normal ideas of what is good influence your definition. Because, what do those normal people know, anyway? Look at where being normal got them?
If you defy what’s normal and and live life in a way that challenges the world’s perfectly normal expectations every day, you may change the very nature of the way that life is lived. But, I will warn you that doing this will never be the easiest option available to you. The best things never are. For example,
You could choose to be happy, no matter what your circumstances are.
You could assume responsibility for your actions instead of blaming others.
When someone deserves your anger, you could forgive them and move on with your life. You could refuse to hold a grudge.
You could love your family, and serve them above all else with your time and energy.
You could be totally honest about your real strengths and make the most of them. You could be totally honest about your real weaknesses. And then work on them.
You could try something new, knowing full well the odds are good you’ll fail.
You could listen to and express interest in others instead of talking about yourself.
You could dream big and follow those dreams with a passion, instead of dreaming.
Or not. That would be perfectly normal. But I think we already established how I feel about that.
I told you earlier that I faced my own personal struggle with normality. When I sat on this same stage 12 years ago, I had grand plans of going to Alma College to pursue a pre-medical degree and go on to medical school and eventually my own practice. I graduated with a 4.0. I earned a 34 on my ACT. I won a full-ride scholarship to Alma,. Everyone felt that this was a perfectly normal dream to have.
The only problem is that I didn’t really want to do that.
Somewhere around my junior year at Alma, I realized that my dream wasn’t to become a doctor. It was to teach. High School.
I fully expected my friends and family to throw up hands, clap, and click their heels in excitement over my revelation. Instead I was greeted with lots of raised eyebrows and “Are you sure’s?”
I was devastated.
Obviously, you know how this story ends, and I wish I could tell you that I once I decided to become a teacher, that I focused my efforts and never looked back at normal again, but that would be a lie.
It was hard to see the look of disappointment on people’s faces when they found out I was “just” going to be a teacher. It was gut-wrenching to get passed up by 6 different interview committees at high schools when I had already been accepted at three different medical schools. I was not and still am not given a lot of respect and admiration for being a high school teacher, and what I drive isn’t even close to what I once imagined I would as Dr. Sharp.
But, my Good Life is a “Weird in a Good Way Life”, and my dreams are not the dreams the world gave to me. They are my own.
It would be perfectly normal for you to take the world’s dreams and make them yours -- they certainly make for more impressive facebook statuses -- but if you take my advice you won’t do that.
In this delightfully weird time of both reflection on the past and anticipation of what’s to come, I would encourage you to, above all else, take some time to think about what the Good Life is. And be open to some weird ideas. Knowing you, class of 2012, this shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
If the world is telling you that your dreams aren’t worth pursuing or that your actions are abnormal, consider the source. And smile, because it’s only then that you’ll know you’re on the right path to A “Weird in a Good Way” life.
Class of 2012, on behalf of the Western High School staff, I wish you nothing but weirdness in your pursuit of the Good Life to come. Congratulations!
Lord, thank you for helping me give this speech today.
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