About two weeks ago, I went with a school group of eighth graders to Disneyland...
Yep, that small pond of red was us. We actually had a really good time. Most of the students were well behaved, and mainly, only had trouble with making a couple of the boys pick up their feet and keep up with the rest of the group. One of the girls had never been to Disneyland before, and it's always a treat to see the face of someone who first experiences the Happiest Place on Earth.
None of these pictures to follow will show any of their faces, because they are minors and deserve their privacy.
Although, one of them did make it into the lagoon at the Nemo, submarine ride.
I really had a great time... Despite what this picture from Space Mountain shows...
Anyway...
This is simply a prelude to what happened last week.
For their own private reasons, I was asked to be the Key Note Speaker at their graduation...
No, that is not me behind the lectern. That is the Pastor of the church the school is housed in. And no I was not asked at the last minute to fill in because someone else had bowed out. I was give almost three months notice to write the Commencement speech. Granted I waited until the weekend before to write it, but I wanted to have my show, and the trip to Disneyland behind me, before I wrote it.
I was one of the first people to speak that day, and since no one recorded it, and I forgot to hand someone my camera there is not proof beyond the actual speech to prove I did it. But since it's the only real thing I written in the near past, I thought I'd post it here. Enjoy it for what it is...
6/14/2012 First Lutheran
commencement speech:
Congratulations First Lutheran Graduates of 2012!
Before I start, I’d like to
say that several people have told me that many of the eighth graders here at
First Lutheran School think I’m “Cool”.
I’ve never been “Cool” in my
entire life! So, thank you! Thank you, very much!
I hope you all still think
I’m cool after I finish this speech.
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Do you know how hard it is to
come up with a commencement speech for eighth graders? There are no
guidelines. Every commencement speech I
listened to, or read, was done for the collegiate level.
You can get away with a lot
more at that level.
On the eighth grade level,
there are a lot pitfalls a person could easily drop into. Especially at a
church based school.
Language is one. As you may
imagine, curse words are a big no, no. I generally try not to use foul
language. I consider it a refuge for the illiterate.
People who aren't smart
enough to come up with a better word for what they are thinking, or how they are feeling, use cuss words.
You can’t use pedantic words
(Big words) in a speech to eighth graders, because your audience hasn’t had the
schooling to understand them yet.
That doesn't mean you're not
intelligent, it simply means you haven't reached that grade level, yet.
That one is an especially a tough
problem for a writer, being words are his business.
The second is certain
subjects. I can’t even tell you what those subjects are, because you, your
parents or the church might have a problem with it, or find it offensive.
Trust me, you will eventually
find out about those things. And if you're really curious – Wait about a year,
then ask your parents.
Anyway, I literally watched,
or listened to, or read nearly a hundred key note speeches on line. Neil
Gaiman, Aaron Sorkin, J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Bill Cosby, Meryl
Streep, Barack Obama…
Senators, Psychiatrists, and
Physicists, oh my!..
If you really want to
experience a great Key note speech, I highly recommend Neil Gaiman’s speech to the
2012 class, at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He talks about the life of an artist.
Or Steve Jobs inspirational
speech to the 2005 Class at Stanford. They are both online, look them up.
The truth of the matter is
that I fully expect you not to remember a single thing I say during this
speech.
I know I don’t remember who
spoke at my High School or College graduation, or what they said.
Everyone here wants to just
get on with it, get his or her diplomas, and go home to either nap, or
celebrate. Perfectly understandable.
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But I have been asked to
impart some kind of wisdom or life guidelines.
So here it goes…
Be smart! It really is that
simple, just be smart.
So, how dare I say that! What
do I mean by that? Am I saying, you're not smart?
No.
I mean that life gives you
endless opportunities to do amazing things, and you are only as limited as you choose
to be.
You should strive to learn as
much as you can, while you are still in school. Because you will never
again be given this rare opportunity to concentrate solely on making yourself as smart as you possibly can.
For example, right after my
college graduation for my B.A., my mom told me... "Why don't you continue
college and get your masters? You can still live at home until you finish
school?"
And I told her... "Nah,
I've had enough..."
Not very smart. It's one of
the very few things I now wish I had done.
And learning isn't easy. Just wait until you hit physics.
There's gonna be lots of distractions
too. Friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, sports, cars, clothes, fitting in…
Let me tell you this, fitting
in is over rated. I’m not saying that you need to be antisocial. You have to
get along with others.
But no one who is, or was, simply
a follower has ever amounted to anything special.
Through out history, if you
look back, you will see that it was the people who stood outside the pack, who
did great things. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, and
many, many more, learned everything they could about what they wanted to do,
and then did it.
And they all had failures.
Walt Disney, started the “Laugh-O-Gram Studio”, which went bankrupt. He then created
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. (Anyone remember Oswald?) It was stolen by Charles
Mintz and Universal studios.
And it wasn’t until that
happened, that Walt was driven to create Mickey Mouse, and eventually build Disneyland.
If you want to know more about it, you can look it up in a book or online.
You will have failures in your life. Some big, and some small.
But as Sir James M. Barrie, the creator
of “Peter Pan” once said “We are all Failures – At least, all the best of us
are.”
You can’t be afraid of
failure. Be afraid of giving up.
We’re not perfect. You can’t
be. You can get pretty close… if you continue to learn, and don’t shut yourself
off. But you will never be perfect.
You can’t. It's already too
late. If you’ve made one mistake in your life… Told even one lie… I have news
for you. You’re not perfect.
Nor will you ever be one
hundred percent right. No one is … ever… Some of you, out there, may think you
are… But you’re not. There are no absolutes…
Let me prove it to you. (Do Magic Trick)
Do you know why you can't be
one hundred percent right, regarding this magic trick? Because in this case, I've
studied magic. I know how it works, and you don't. And every time you think you
know what the answer is, I can change it.
Also, before you ask me how
this magic trick is done, let me tell you, I’m not going to tell you.
I will tell you, that if you
pay attention in your High School Science and Physics classes, you might be able
to figure it out.
Now, I know what a few of you
students are thinking...
“HAH! I can’t wait until I
get home and can tell my parents that they are not a hundred percent RIGHT!”
First off – That’s not smart.
Second - Do so at your own
peril!
Third - your parents are
older than you. They have learned more, just by being around longer than you.
You might be smarter whenever
you reach their age, but guess what, they still be older and still know more,
because of their age.
Plus, as long as they’re
footing the bill… Feeding you, buying your clothes, housing you, it’s not a
bright thing to anger the source of where your money comes from.
Basically, as it says in the
bible… I promised I’d get at least one bible verse in…
Deuteronomy 5:16
“Honor your mother and father
as the LORD, your God, has commanded you,
so that you may live long,
and that it may go well with
you
in the land the LORD, your
God, is giving you.”
So, in other words…
Be smart…
As Walt Disney is quoted
saying to his staff shortly after the opening of Disneyland in 1955, "It's
just been sort of a dress rehearsal, and we're just getting started. So if any
of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because... we are
just getting started."
Thank you for listening.
There will be a pop quiz in
about five years.
Still, it was fun, interesting and a bit of an honor and if any of you out there get a chance to do it, I highly recommend it.
