Commencement Address To Myself
Graduate,
As you embark on the next journeys of your life, you can look back on your times doing your graduate studies and know that those moment, though difficult, were worth it. Nevermind the outrageous amount of student loans you have piled up, or the nights where you didn’t sleep due to papers needing written, or books needing read. Those are past you, or a part of your every day life at this point. You cannot run from student loans.
You know what graduate, you will be okay, because you have been okay up to this point. Sure, you have no grasp on how to deal with stress, and you’re tired the majority of the time. Heck we all are, but you dealt with it. You are still dealing with it, and you will always deal with it. You will always deal with what life throws in your direction. Even when it seems like things couldn’t get worse, you prevail. You rise above.
You are now a Master of Fine Art, and you have another degree to add to your repertoire. Those degrees do not define you, but they add definition to your life. Your degrees show your children a different way of life. Your desperation for success and the drive you put forth everyday shines onto them. They see your smile through the tears and they see you persevering through it all. One day they will ask themselves how you did it all, all those years ago. They will grasp the concept that you did do it and they will want to surpass you. That graduate, is a goal to have.
Congratulations grad, you have made it! No matter what, no one can take this moment from you.
Through your many ups and downs, finishing this graduate program has set you on a unique path, giving you a leg up on literature and ins and outs of fiction writing. Though it seems at times you wanted to give up and throw in the towel you stuck through it and you conquered. You are conquering now. Please remember graduate that money does not equal success and the bigger picture just lays ahead. The bigger picture is that you set goals and reach goals and be passionate about what you are doing with every task.
Through the many years of your schooling graduate you have made many positive decisions and many negative decisions. That is okay, because for the rest of your life you will make those same types of decisions, just on a grander scale. The only thing you can do it to take the losses with grace and learn from your mistakes. Take responsibility and always move forward with dignity and politeness.
Graduate you may get a big break or you may work tirelessly for the rest of your life. Either way, be humble. Take time to see the beauty around you, in your children, your spouse, family, people at the grocery store, in nature, and in all things. Do not take your time for granted, do what you need to do and make time for your passions. Remember, even with a hectic life it is okay to love to do something and do it. You are not a selfish person for doing something you want to do. Your family will be more enriched the more they see you happy. Just be happy.
Looking back on your time with Southern New Hampshire University it may have seemed that the road was long and never-ending. Some nights were so hectic, dinners were burned and chores forgotten. But you did what you had to do in the time you needed to do it and you excelled. Graduate, you may have been on an emotional roller coaster with your day job, but school never interfered and you kept pushing. You pushed so hard that you have completed the program with an A- average. Give yourself a pat on the back and don’t be so hard on yourself all the time. You are doing an okay job and you will continue to push. That drive may not change the whole world, but it will change your world and in turn adding a little sparkle to society. We need more sparkle, let your sparkle shine.
Congratulations grad, you have made it! No matter what, no one can take this moment from you. No one can make it seem less than what it is. You have another degree. You are a rock star.
