Graduation Come and Gone

The ceremony was lovely yesterday. It was exciting to see so much talent walk across the stage to receive the recognition that they've worked so hard for. The student speakers did a fabulous job of delivering words of wisdom that didn't sound too cliche.

The guest speaker was Stephen Lundin, author of "Fish", "Cats" and "Ubuntu". I just looked him up and it turns out he actually went to the same High School as I did...not that that really means a whole lot, but it's kinda cool all the same. My favorite quote that I was able to remember long enough to get a whole of pen and paper was, "Life is too precious to just be passing through." It struck me because I've found myself getting swept up in the motions of life, getting overwhelmed by the to do list, the planning, all the things I say I have to do. He said something to the effect of when you see your life planned out on paper, it's no longer your life, it's someone else's expectations. Because not only can you not really plan your life, but your expectations of yourself change over time. You can't turn down possibilities just because they aren't part of your plan. He also said that when you start to feel the edge of change, don't resist it because change will come no matter what. But if you move with it and work with it, you'll have the advantage over the ones that resisted the change.

So my BS: Viz degree is officially completed, soon I will have my piece of paper that says I know stuff. I don't feel terribly different or considerably more valuable but it does feel pretty awesome to have achieved a huge goal in my life. I've been looking back on my college career, wishing I had done more with it, pushed myself harder, focused less on relationships that ended up failing anyway, and gotten more involved with campus activities...but I can't change what I did. I'm the person I am today because of what I did (and didn't do) and that will guide what I chose to do in the future, what I place value in.

So, congratulations MCAD class of 2010!


Jerry Allen and I
Jerry Allen, Myself and Abbi Allen