Good morning and welcome.
I extend on behalf of our
community a warm welcome to all and especially to the parents, relatives and
friends of the students graduating and transitioning from SRA today.
I also want to acknowledge
and recognize the parents of current and former students who are in
attendance. I also want to welcome
graduates and former students in the audience.
Graduates,
I fervently hope that during your stay at SRA you have strongly started to
build on the two foundations that will be your guiding principles for building
a successful life. First, I hope you
availed yourself of each precious moment you spent under the guidance of your
talented therapist to come to a basic understanding and knowledge of your many
talents, strengths and have begun to develop strategies to lessen your
weaknesses. If so, then you have begun
the journey of coming to love who you are and to know and understand your true
self. It is a journey that you must
continue through your entire life for if you don’t know and love yourself you
will never really experience true love of others.
Second, I hope that you listened to the wisdom of the faculty
because if you did than you have begun to truly understand the importance of an
education and a quest for knowledge. You
should understand that the true signs of knowledge are not grades and GPAs but
rather what you have stored in your brain that will let you take that knowledge
and use it to solve new situations and that allows you to broaden your
perspective of different topics and viewpoints.
The world you will face is much different from my generation
or your parents’ generation faced. Yours
is a world without borders for it is a global world. You will compete in your careers with people
from every continent in this universe.
People from countries where education is highly valued and mastery of
knowledge demanded. You have heard the
theme 10,000 hours of practice many times at SRA, and you will find in life it
might even take more in this daily changing world of technology and
information.
Until now your education has been meticulously planned for you
usually in discrete packets – English 1, US History, etc. You knew what was going to be taught and how
you were to be assessed. In real life,
however, there are no longer daily objectives written on a board to guide
you. Learning becomes more difficult to
quantify and most real life tests are unannounced, especially tests involving
your character, ethics and feelings for others.
Your education in college will change forms. You may learn important lessons in the wee
hours of the morning in a spirited discussion in your dorm or at a coffee break
between classes in the student union rather than in an English seminar
class. Lessons can come from opinions
sometime from people you aren't particularly interested in listening to, make sure
you listen carefully to these unscripted and unsolicited opinion for they will
help you to develop and refine your belief system.
Use the two foundations to build your life story – to build a
life where each of you make a difference in this world, to make the change that
you want to see, to make a difference in not only yourself but in the lives of
others and to learn from others.
I cannot predict or tell you how your life story will
unfold. I can, however, share some
things that I have learned in my life journey that may help you.
11. Believe in yourself – Don’t let your fears overwhelm
your desires. Let the barriers you face—and
believe me there will be barriers—be external, not internal. Fortune does favor the bold, and I promise
that you will never know what you’re capable of unless you try. Don’t be afraid to change or unwilling to
change your journey through life. Your
journey is just beginning to unfold, enjoy the journey wherever it takes you.
22. Find your passion in life – If you have not found your
passion in life yet, you will find it eventually – so don’t give up on finding
it and following it. Don’t feel guilty
if you don’t know what to do with your life.
Keep seeking it! You will not
find it in things or money. The
important things are those that fill you from inside; that fill your
heart. All successful people aren't
happy, and all happy people are not successful.
If you have to choose, choose happiness.
Pursue your passion but don’t confuse feelings with facts, fun with
happiness or pleasure with fulfillment.
33. Take control of your life – As your life unfolds, the
first thing you should do is throw away that map someone gave you to find
success and begin to draw your own map.
Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s dream. Take control of your life by taking control
of your attitudes. Pain and
disappointment are inevitable, but suffering is optional and tough times are
always temporary. Live life honestly; listen
to both your head and your heart.
44. Act—Create
opportunities—Life will happen to you, whether you try to guide it or not, so
you might as well try to influence the outcome.
You need to know what you want and you have to be willing to go after
it. Take action! Every story you ever connected with, every
leader you’ve admired, every puny little thing that you ever accomplished is a
result of taking action. You have a
choice. Don’t sacrifice a thousand
tomorrows for a few todays, and don’t settle for a little life. Live with purpose and for significance. Respect yourself and others, avoid
self-righteousness and be kind rather than right.
55. Follow your heart – The key is to listen to your heart
and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams. I've learned that it is possible to set your
sights high and achieve your dreams and do it with integrity, character and love. Each day that you’re moving toward your
dreams without compromising who you are, you’re winning.
66. Live life today. Don’t wait until tomorrow – It
doesn't matter that your dreams come true if you spent your whole life
sleeping. So get out there and go for
it! Don’t be caught waiting. It’s great to plan for your future but
nothing ever happens in the future. Life
happens daily.
Give back and be generous –
Life is not about warming yourself by the fire, life is about building the fire
and generosity is the match. If you want
happiness for an hour take a nap, but if you want happiness for a lifetime,
help someone less fortunate than you. As
each day in your life move forward do something to make yourself a better
person and do something for someone else, someone less fortunate than you. Make a difference. So with all this in mind, take the time to
dream big as dreams help you to do great things, large and small. Continue to learn – be curious, be open to
others whose interests differ from yours, read, and learn something new each
day. Take responsibility for your
successes as well as your failures. Be
resilient, learn from your mistakes and celebrate your accomplishments. As you sit here together as a class for the
last time, I encourage you to focus on what you have learned and accomplished
at SRA and to use this knowledge and experience to your advantage as it will
continue to help you to live your life fully.
Finally, as a side note – remember when you thought your
parents didn't know a lot? Watch how
incredibly smart they become over the next decade. For the most part this intellectual leap will
not be from attending academic classes – it turns out that parents are pretty
skilled at picking up on real life lessons.
Continue to talk and listen to your parents. They have learned from their mistakes and
will save you much stress and anxiety.
They also will not charge you for their expertise and most of the time
you may even get a free meal out of the deal.
Today more than any other day, remember to thank them for the
sacrifices they made to give you this opportunity where you have changed your
life’s course and at the same time remember to be thankful to every member of
the SRA community who have been a part of your transformation. I hope for each of you on behalf of the SRA
family that your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest
of your hopes, to the window of your opportunities and to the most special
places your heart has ever known, and I leave you with the Irish blessing which
expresses the Spring Ridge Academy family love of you:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at
your back
May the sun shine warm upon
your face
May the rains fall soft upon
your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm
of his hand.
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