My Baccalaureate Speech

We have made many mistakes. We may even have some regrets. More numerous probably than is healthy though, are our assumptions about life and the best way to live it. We are always striving to live life perfectly, but we can never seem to pull it off. It’s not that we chose to make a certain amount of mistakes, or that we wanted to hurt, judge, or mistreat others, we just lived life and that’s how it goes. Nobody’s perfect. In fact, being perfect is something that is impossible by it’s very definition. Perfection is defined as an instance of excellence, and, seeing as we live in the present, taking life one day at a time, we cannot be excellent at every moment; it would exhaust us completely. Imperfection is something everybody has to deal with, but nobody would choose, sort of like being a freshman. Maturity means dealing with imperfection. It really doesn’t matter how many times you have or will fail, what matters is that you learn from each experience. When you are faced with a crisis or a trial that would seem insurmountable, take some time to ask yourself these important questions: What will I change in myself after going through this? How will I change the way I live? Why will I even change in the first place?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, I don’t know why, or even if, you will change, but I do know this. You won’t change because of me. You won’t change because of this speech. You definitely won’t change when you receive your diploma. You all know John Mayer, right. I think most of us know the lyrics to his song, Waiting on the World to Change. Well, if you’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change, you better get up. It won’t change for you anytime soon. Never has, never will. There never will be a fair fighting ground. You all know the way the world works. You try, you work, you sweat, you bleed, you get nothing in return. Loyalty, integrity, honesty; they’re often viewed as weaknesses, characteristics of someone who can be manipulated. We are left, really, with only one option. I think that Gandhi said it well when he said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” But I like best Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians, “We simply wanted to provide an example of diligence, hoping it would prove contagious.” Let this be what the historians say about us when they look back on our lives. Indeed, if we are to change this, change our world, we must first change ourselves. Nobody can do this for you, you can’t cheat on this test. In fact, the test we take now is nothing like any we’ve ever taken before. Our success is not measured in correct answers or percentages. We’re not rewarded with A’s or B’s; we can’t earn extra credit. Rather, our goal is to change our campuses, our cities, our world, our environment, and the ways we live in them. In doing this we will set an example of diligence and others around us will be encouraged to take the torch, follow our example, and multiply that change throughout our world.

But even if this is not the case, even if others don’t follow our example quickly or correctly, we still must be the change. The truth is, we have nothing and no one to fear. Our world, when confronted with an unrelenting generation that demands change, will be forced to respond and eventually to get on board. Now we are faced with a daunting task. Just how do we live such changed lives in a manner that will affect our world? How do we first change ourselves? What if we don’t know what to do or even how to turn around and live changed? In order to do these things we must grasp the concept of the Greek word metanoia. Metanoia is a verb that means to make a change in mind, in purpose, and in life. Thus, our objective is three-pronged. We must change the way we think, we must find something worth living for, and then we must change the way we live.

Always know this. You are never too far gone. I Corinthians 13 says that not only will love remain, but also faith and hope. There is always hope for a purposeful, changed life because there are no restrictions on hope. Nothing can stop hope from being had. Yes, hope may be only a feeling. But the behavior which hope produces in us is much greater than a feeling. It is a powerful force. When we have hope, when we believe in a destiny, we become determined individuals, actively trying to affect change wherever we find ourselves. Thank you.