Letter from SGA President Kloth
Congratulations! It’s that magical time in your life when the world and all of its creatures wants to embrace you and all your accomplishments and join you in the celebration that is your graduation!
For some of you it may have been a longer journey than it was for others, but either way, every life experience that you’ve gained, big or small, math test or mountain summit, has accumulated to this point to make you the beautiful, complex, intelligent and mature spirit that you are today; that in itself is something to look upon with awe!
Whether you become the CEO of a large company, a plant biologist, a politician, a journalist, a doctor or just a plain romantic, remember that some of the biggest happiness can be found in the smallest things, and some of life’s biggest lessons and epiphanies can be found in the most unpredictable situations.
Whatever your definition of the “real world” may be, don’t forget to live! Love! Laugh! Most importantly, don’t be afraid of making mistakes! A wise person once said, “How dull one’s life, if the individual has never truly gone crazy!”
With all your newly recognized skills emblazoned on your degree, it may be fair to say that your priorities have changed since you were a young child. Grad school is on the horizon and you and your longtime partner are thinking of marriage, etc. With that being said, it is also important to remember that that child that you once were is still very much a part of you, and though the view may have changed in terms of priorities that you hold, you are still looking through the same eyes.
There is no “life map” that anyone, not even you, is required to follow. So whether it be grad school, or buying a house, that’s great! Just make sure that it makes you happy at the end of the day and is a reflection of the legacy that you want to leave on this earth and its contents.
Ultimately, you are awesome! You are capable! You are a living, breathing being that is a very important part of the community, both literal in the biotic sense, and social, pertaining to your kindred species: other humans! With that being said, never lose the connection to the simple things that make life possible and your every dream, a reality; give thanks for the clean water you are so lucky to have access to; the soil, from which the majority of your food is grown; the air, from which your lungs find the strength to expand and your friends and family, who give you the strength to be you!
The future is bright, but there are still wars being waged on a world-wide scale, and environmental as well as civil injustice afoot; and the beauty is, you have the power to see situations through the eyes of love and the choice to work to help others!
In closing, Neil Young just wanted you to know this: “It’s better to burn out, than to fade away.”
