College Graduation

Jess
Yesterday Jessica, our oldest daughter, graduated from college.  It
is a milestone that any graduate can be proud of.   The entire college
experience is a mixture of hard work, hard play and a unique time of of
ones life to just feed oneself intellectually.  I remember how much I
loved the brain power feed of college.  It is an experience that is hard to
replicate elsewhere. 

There were a few speeches yesterday from
Michael Roth, the President of Wesleyan including the people that were
given honorary degrees that included James Van Benschoten Dresser,
Majora Carter and Joss Hill Whedon.  They each had something to say that
was a great takeaway for each of yesterdays graduates.

Dressers
great-grandfather taught classics at Wesleyan in the 19th Century and
each generation has had at least one person graduate from Wesleyan since
then.  He spoke about how you create the relationship with Wesleyan and
how much he got out of it.  It is up to the graduates to return and
embrace the institution that sent them on their way into the world.

Majora
was fantastic.  She was so eloquently moved to return and receive an
honorary degree of humane letters.  This is a woman from the South Bronx
who never could quite believe that she got to Wesleyan.  Majora
embraced that experience and took her energy into revitalizing urban
communities.  What she said stuck with all of us the most.  Be
comfortable in being uncomfortable.  In essence the best way to truly
challenge yourself is to push yourself to be and think and be outside of
the box.  Being uncomfortable is good.

Whedon spoke of the same
thing but in different words.  He said "You have, which is a rare thing,
that ability and the responsibility to listen to the dissent in
yourself, to at least give it the floor, because it is the key not only
to consciousness but to real growth.  To accept duality is to earn
identity.  And identity is something that you are constantly earning.  I
talk about this contradiction, and this tension, there's two things I
want to say about it.  One, t never goes away.  And if you think a
career or a relationship will quite that voice, it will not.  If you
think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy.  Peace
comes from the acceptance of the part of you that can never be at
peace.  It will always be in conflict.  If you accept that, everything
gets a lot better. Don't just be yourself.  Be all yourselves.  Live all
of your life.  Understand it, see it, appreciate it.  And have fun."

Roth
left the graduates with these words.  "Three ideals to make practical
in your lives going forward; non-violence, diversity; and equality.  To
create non-violence communities and promote creative experimentation, to
reject cultural tendencies that subordinate patient inequity to macho
projections of force.  The value of diversity is non-conformity.  We
have a better chance of developing powerful ideas and practices if we
work through a multiplicity of perspectives.  We know that homogeneity
kills creativity and that diversity is a powerful hedge against the
"rationalized conformity" of group-think.  Equality.  The privileged have
become more and more powerful across this land.  And this may well
continue as entrenched elites forge better and better tools to protect
their advantages.  Access to a real education is the best antidote to
the unnatural aristocracy of wealth.  Access to education has never been
more important.  Resist the trends of inequality that are tearing at
the fabric of our country." 

We discussed the speeches, the
graduates, the whole weekend when we got home last night.  We also
reflected on our own graduations and the paths each of us went
down.  I am so incredibly proud of Jessica and what she has accomplished
at Wesleyan these past four years.  She has made some wonderful friends
who are as unique, driven and interesting as she is.  She has fed her brain with tremendous amounts of knowledge.  She has worked hard, played hard and I am excited to watch her undertake her next journey down the road of life. 

Comments (Archived):

  1. CCjudy

    That photograph says a lot about her joy Judy

  2. aweissman

    it is remarkable to me it was over 4 years ago that I sat down with Jessica to talk about Wesleyan. Wow.

    1. Gotham Gal

      flies by!

  3. William Mougayar

    That picture says it all! It is for eternity.Commencement speeches are special. I wonder if there’s a collection of best commencement quotes and speeches somewhere. Here’s my favorite, from Adlai Stevenson:“When you leave here, don’t forget why you came.”

    1. Gotham Gal

      that is a very good line. it can be used for many stages of our lives.

  4. Tom Labus

    Edward Bennett Williams to a Georgetown graduating class:”For those of you about to enter the world, I only have two words of advice: Don’t Go!”

    1. Gotham Gal

      ha

  5. Sunchowder

    Congratulations to you and your lovely family!!! The speeches sounded wonderful and just what I needed to hear today 🙂

  6. Marjan Ghara

    What a great picture. The joy is contagious.I have never met her but she looks like you in this photo. Must be an amazing feeling to see one’s child in cap & gown. Congratulations!

    1. Gotham Gal

      it is pretty awesome.

  7. SallyBroom

    Go Jessica! Great picture and a great future ahead

  8. pointsnfigures

    congrats. and now, no more tuition checks for at least one-you got a raise.

  9. Lisa Mogull

    Mazel tov to Jessica and the entire family!