What I Wanted To Say: A senior’s would-be commencement address

Since at least sophomore year, I have wanted to try out to be the student speaker at my commencement. It is not an option this year, however, so I have written the gist of what I would have said:

Fellow classmates. We are here at last, at a culmination of the past four years. We’ve spent the time studying, dancing, talking, drinking, exercising and living in the tender embrace of this institution, which we’ll soon be able to refer to as our alma mater, as we sip wine in our luxurious libraries. Or, rather, the room we pretend to be our library as we try to eke out a living in a small apartment, working however many jobs we need as we enter the more anonymous stage of the recently graduated.

We will be out in the world, scattered like seeds to the wind, each trying to find out what we are doing and how to do it. What we must not do, however, is ignore the why. Think about why you are doing something, both for direction in life, and for figuring out your reasons behind living. Careers change, jobs come and go, and mid-life crises do happen. If you figure out what your goals are for life, however, the careers never have to be-all and end-all. I have some suggestions and advice for these goals.

Live passionately. In our generation, marriage and a family aren’t so rigorously expected of us, which is something that allows for some freedom. Figure out who you are before you enter a situation where everything depends on just that. Love those you are close to. As Shakespeare said through Polonius in Hamlet, “The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, / Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel.” As I see it, life is too short to choose a miserable but well-paying job over a network of friends and family. Whatever you do, make sure that you infuse passion into it, and I guarantee you that it will be more satisfying, and better done.

Never forget to appreciate the people around you. Whether they are CEOs, custodians, baristas, or distant family, each is an individual playing some role in your life. Never take any help or appreciation for granted, and you in turn will never be taken for granted.

I have argued for moral relativism in a classroom, but I believe that there is goodness in the world, and that it cannot be quenched. Whether you go abroad to help people, or dig down in one area and improve it as much as possible, always try to give back to the community. The best cities are made and maintained through a universal civic sense of responsibility to them.
Self-knowledge is one of the most important things in the world. People, as much as you should show them appreciation, can be just as transient as jobs, and at the end of the day, the only person you really need to live with is yourself. Know who that is and don’t be afraid to take time to find out. Being able to be alone is an invaluable skill to have.

Not a day goes by when I don’t think about the fact that life is transient, that it can slip by and that at any point in time, anything can go terribly wrong. At first, I was angry at the constant philosopher in my head bringing this up all the time. Then it was pointed out to me that having a limit to life is what gives it meaning. In our short time on this earth, we need to live passionately, never letting time slip us by, and never entering a numbing routine that causes us to wake up twenty years later and wonder what happened. Flowers never bloom forever, but the memories of them can. So, my friends, live with a fierce, determined strive, and love the ones that strive alongside you. As Michael Franti said, “Love like your life depends on it. Because it does.”