Thank
you, class of 2022, for asking me to be your commencement speaker. It’s an
honor to be asked by you, because of all the classes I have spoken for in the
past, you are the one class that I had for the shortest period of time. Not
even a full year, really. My student teaching experience was almost as long. The
icing on the cake for me, though, happens to be that I student taught only
sophomores and my first two years of teaching were only sophomores. There was
never a year in my 35 plus years of teaching that I didn’t teach
sophomores. Wise (Sophos, from the Greek)
morons, the literal definition of sophomore. So Randon, this is why I became
known as the openly rude teacher who willingly, albeit affectionately, called
my students morons. Really, everyone does, they just don’t think about it quite
the way I did.
I will admit that I
have jokingly referred to you as the class, sophomores at the time, who forced
my retirement. But, as you know, that was not the case at all. You weren’t even
a tough class. In fact, you were down right nice to me all the time. Not
exactly sophomoric. And you still are nice to me, asking me, of all people, to
speak at your graduation, even after I called you morons. Of course, we were
robbed of that last quarter when the real monotony of school begins. Will,
would all of your teachers from the past two years say you were nice to them
all the time? Brady, you were always nice, weren’t you? Most teachers are
fairly forgiving, so you’ll be all right if you weren’t. But at any rate, I
digress. You’ll forgive me if I seem to ramble a bit as I go. I’ll pull it together
for you in the end. Josie, I’m not one to follow my advice on writing an essay with
an up-front thesis statement in my speeches because that’s not really how
conversation works. Speaking of conversation, Patrick, you and I need to talk.
We have a lot in common because of all the people we know here and in Deary even
if we don’t really know each other.
But
back to you as a class. The tail end of your required formal education has been
highly unusual compared to past years. Some will say you might be hopelessly
behind because of test scores (as if any of that EVER mattered). They’ll cite any
possible deficit they can, because, well… Becca, you might have noticed, we
have a lot of Chicken Little’s in the world, always worried that the sky is
falling. Most of those Chicken Little’s seem to hold public office. But we
human beings are resilient, and you all will prove that even more so. You’ll
have all kinds of Pandemic stories to tell your children, but, if past
generations are any sign of how that works, your children will probably know
nothing about the pandemic. I never heard Spanish Flu stories as a kid, yet my
grandparents all lived through it. There’s no doubt that it has probably colored
your view of the world, maybe people as well. All those lessons on polite
behavior seem to have been lost on some of us older folk, while, hopefully
Dawni, you’ve observed the “do as I say, not as I do” attitude with a bit of a
smirk.
Much
has changed in the past few years and the pandemic sped some of that up. Two
years ago I had never heard of Zoom, and while I had Face Timed a couple of
times, I felt that it was an art in holding the phone at such an angle that I
didn’t have to worry whether I’d trimmed my nose hairs. So I preferred texting
or old fashioned talks on the phone. I’ve had to get over that. Now most
meetings are held over Zoom or some hybrid. You can now be a part of your local
church congregation and never even physically attend the service. That kind of
stuff is not going away. Henry, I hear you’re into all this new e-sport thing.
This is your time, as long as you can survive murderous peanut shenanigans of
the likes of Levi. While me, I’m guessing I was the last teacher to actually
use chalk in this building. I know I am the last to have taught in it without
walls. And many of your parents were right there with me. We’re of another era,
but you are here. So you see what I mean about people being resilient. We
survive the most idiotic ideas (no walls in a school?) and some of the bleakest
of times when we need to.
We
took my dad back to Connecticut this last month. In fact, I was in Boston
getting ready to come home when Emma texted me to ask if I would speak here
today. We were at the Paul Revere House when I got her text. My dad was born in
Connecticut, but hadn’t been back since 1949. The reason they moved out here was
one of those bleak stories of cancer and death but incredible resilience as
well. Anyway, we visited family and saw his old stomping grounds and literally
begged him to tell us stories about a very different Connecticut. We ate it up
because he’s the last in his generation of our family. And we visited lots of
cemeteries, MacKenzie. It dawned upon me
then, as it did again this last Memorial Day when I was just getting over my own
bout of COVID, that we are the blessing of all those family members buried
there. We, the living, Jack, are the blessings of the dead. All of their
strivings were for us. Those cemeteries in Connecticut are old, but there are a
lot of really new graves from these past two years. I’d say it’s more
noticeable in more populous areas, but maybe the pain of loss is more acutely
felt here where we all know each other and just one person leaves a gaping hole.
Just our country alone has lost over one million people. I know we haven’t made
it unscathed, and how behind students are in school is probably the least of
the after affects.
Misinformation,
conspiracies, and lies are not new to us, but they seem to flourish in this
climate. They can really cause harm. You have to look at facts to determine
what is right. You have to turn off the voices that tell you not to believe the
facts. Sometimes you just have to dig really deep to find the truth, and you
have to let go of things that you thought were right when you find out they
aren’t. You have to have faith that there is something bigger than all the mess
of humanity with it’s fears and lies. If there weren’t something bigger, how
could we be so resilient? How could we overcome the onslaught of diseases that
have plagued us forever? We could not.
We
educate our children because we believe that there is something worth living for,
something more beautiful than the dark whisperings we find even ourselves
speaking. And it’s not because we want them to continually break themselves, Mr.
Quiring. And it’s not just to help them see the sunlight in June on the green
of the Palouse. It’s not just these tremendous gatherings we hold at the end of
the year that say you made it. It’s to help you decipher lies from truth
whether that be in the sciences or the arts or the humanities—all of those studies,
no matter how mundane they have undoubtedly become, help you decipher the truth
from the lies. And right now there is a whole contingent of people that doesn’t
believe that’s possible, that maybe you have somehow been indoctrinated with
some falsehood, that no one has taught you to think for yourselves. Those
people, Olivia, deserve one of your spikes right in the chops. I already know
that you are quite able to think for yourselves. Not that you always do it. I’ve
watched you in groups at the crosswalk down here at Scenic 6 just keep talking
and walk into the street assuming someone else looked for cars, and I’ve heard
the screeching of car brakes at that cross walk. That I’ve only had one heart
attack, Dominic, is more proof of human resilience. We all have done that group
think in one way or another, even though we all know to look both ways before
crossing. It’s important, even in our groups, to look both ways. I mean that
both literally and metaphorically. We are, after all, Americans. No, Mr.
McGuire, there is nothing wrong with thinking independently.
We
have come through a pretty turbulent time and now we have to clean up some of
the mess that comes after a violent storm. We are here for a reason and we
celebrate that together now, as the blessings of those who have gone before us
because we are continuing to live, the thing that our ancestors wanted for us from
the very beginning. And sometimes life is just messy and people are people,
full of fears and doubts. We forget to just look up away from the ugly messes
that come from whatever reason and have faith. But really, look up. Breathe. Maybe
use one of your hobbies to get your head in a good place. I hear Austin plays a
mean guitar. That’s a great thing. Things like that help us know there is
something bigger and we are a result of that. We need to not think the world
revolves around us, and let go of those trappings that hold us back. We also need
to forgive others for being so human, so like us. I can’t tell you how often I
have seen people hold grudges over really stupid things. It’s not worth it
because it only hurts you, not the person you can’t forgive. So let it go. That’s
the best way to carry on and find happiness in life. Be kind. Be forgiving. And
don’t be afraid to remind yourself of that over and over. You see a stupid post
on social media that really just burns you? Scroll past it. It doesn’t help you
feel better to leave a nasty comment just because you have some anonymity.
You
have beautiful friends and family here witnessing your accomplishments. And it
wasn’t easy for us. We learned, Kenzie, that the internet is really crappy
around here, didn’t we? Do you remember those goofy videos I did to try to
explain Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to you? You had to read that alone
and watch a very poor internet version. Did you read it, Sierra? Don’t worry, I’m
not kidding myself. You all learned enough to fake it till you made it on those
essay tests, so at least I accomplished something
with you. Just remember to “Beware the Ides of March,” and figure out if your
friends really think you might be getting too ambitious. History shows us that
people have a way about them that isn’t always the best. I could have just told
you the Romans had 10 months, but they added July for Julius Caesar, August for
little Gus Caesar and to watch your backs and you would have had the gist of
the importance of the whole play without all the “This was the noblest Roman of
them all,” malarkey. (If you wonder, yes I do have that whole thing memorized,
it’s the one constant I taught for 36 years to you wise morons!) But you got
less of that and got to watch me hike in the woods and talk imbecilically to my
phone and post it on Classroom. And Izack, you still found ways to sell me
things! We all not only survived, we are thriving, hence the funky gowns you
have on. Good job! We are, indeed, resilient.
You
aren’t getting an easy life handed to you like some of us Boomers. I remember being
advised that to buy a home you should have an income that equaled at least half
of what the cost of a home would be so that you could afford the payments. Let
me tell you, you guys ain’t buying a new house too soon. Little starter homes
in Potlatch are selling for a quarter of a million and you won’t find jobs
starting at $150K around here right now. But, in spite of that, you do have a
great resource in this community and we will help you in any way we can. So Brandon,
don’t forget your roots here in Potlatch. Your friends and family, Jessica, the
ones who both love and irritate you, are the ones to hold close. That’s exactly
why I say you have to remember to forgive. Because sometimes, well, we’re just
stupid. That’s part of our humanity and I’m sure you’ve noticed it. But you
needn’t say anything about that, Logan. Remember what I said about comments on
social media? That applies doubly when you are in person. What’s to stop us
from slapping you upside the head? Remember, I am retired now. But Odin you’re safe.
I’m not stupid, even if you are easy going, I’m not tempting fate.
So
here you are. Maybe you aren’t feeling all that resilient, but you are. You
aren’t those little smart—excuse me—wise morons anymore. You aren’t even
Seniors anymore. In fact, you have quite a few years left to regain that title
(the sophomoric Tyson is saying, “ok Boomer” after kissing my bald spot--ewww).
Now, remember that there is something bigger than you, than any of us. Have
faith in that and hold on to it. People are not faithful or honest, so since
you are a person, forgive people for being ridiculously human, because with all
of those weaknesses we are still very resilient. We also have a way of making
big messes with our actions because we lack foresight. It’s your job now, to tackle
those messes. That’s why we are the blessings of all those ancestors who aren’t
here with us anymore. We get to clean up their messes. So roll up your sleeves,
class of 2022, because you have work to do. Commence living in all your beautiful
resilient humanity. We love you.
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