Wednesday, May 28, 2014

May 2014 - Graduation Speech delivered by Principal Joseph Gubbins

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment