Wellesley College
1997 Student Commencement Speech
Janet Hostetler
May 30, 1997
Good morning and thank you, Keri. Before I begin, I would
like to ask for a moment of silence for Amy Spear, a member
of the class of 1997 who is no longer with us, but lives on
in our hearts and memories.
Thank you. I would like to welcome all of you here today,
faculty, family, friends and of course the one, the only,
Wellesley graduating class of 1997.
Last year as I was finishing up my semester in Argentina,
I put together a little yearbook for the 20 Americans who
had studied with me. I did this in my last week there, while
writing final papers, saying goodbye to new, but dear,
friends and places and packing everything I had brought and
all that I had acquired back into my two suitcases.
The yearbook wasn't fancy; I didn't have time to even put
in pictures. I just collected people's addresses, favorite
quotes, their superlatives as voted by the others, and what
they wanted to be when they grew up. I remember distinctly
what one woman wrote as her desired occupation: happy. She
wanted to be happy when she grew up.
Once again we're packing up a lot of memories along with
our belongings and preparing to go far away - mentally if
not physically. Many of us, here and now, are also thinking
that question: "What do I want to be when I grow up?"
I guess you could say that we're along the way to being
grown up, although I plan at least a few more decades of
growing before I'm officially there. But now is probably a
good time to think about what we want to be when we grow up.
And happy doesn't sound like too bad of a goal, does it?
So let's talk about happiness, or rather how we can go
toward that goal. I think we can all agree that to be happy
we should live a positive life. That makes sense. So, how
then, can we make sure that we live positively?
One way is to surround ourselves with positive things and
positive experiences. Read good books, see good movies, have
beautiful artwork hanging on our walls. We should eat
delicious food, buy ourselves fresh flowers to greet us when
we get home and attend all kinds of concerts frequently.
What are your happy memories from Wellesley? What will
you choose to remember? Stop and think about what made your
time worthwhile. Walking around Lake Waban with friends in
the autumn as the leaves turned colors. Traying at midnight
after the first real snowfall, Flower Sunday with little and
big sisters, all night discussions about the meaning of life
with friends. These are my memories of Wellesley.
It is important to remember why we are living on this
earth. What are our priorities: our family and friends or
getting that extra bonus by working 100 hours a week? Which
really and truly makes us happier? We only have one life, so
let's treat ourselves well, with massages and bubble baths.
Never pass a playground without stopping to swing. Throw
away our watches and maybe even try living without a planner
for a day.
Find the little things, like sunrises and sunsets, or
tequila shots and pet rocks, that make a day worth living.
And always, always, always have a
reason to get out of bed in the morning - whether it's the
brownies you baked the night before or the realization that
Thursday means "ER" is on at 10:00.
That way of positive living doesn't sound too bad, does
it?
But I'd like to introduce another way of living
positively. This previous way is inward-looking. The goal is
to bring positive or happy things of the world into our
lives.
A second manner of positive living is more
outward-focused. The goal is to direct our own positivity
(if I can take the liberty of inventing a word) on the
world. To perhaps even seek out the negative things in this
world and work to make them positive.
This lifestyle might not appear so much fun, at first. We
no longer can claim that it is for "positive" reasons that
we don't read the bad news in the newspaper. To the
contrary, we must open our eyes and ears to what is
happening in all corners of this world that is our global
community. Sure it does no good to numb ourselves to all the
horrors of the world by repeated contact. But we cannot
solve problems without knowing they are there.
In this life, maybe instead of going to a concert, you
will perform for others. Maybe instead of buying cut
flowers, you will plant flowers in a vacant lot for others
to enjoy. Maybe you will teach, heal, counsel, or write
policy that changes the world.
Building a house with Habitat for Humanity may come
before that weekend at the spa. But look at what you've made
at the end of a day! The beautiful artwork that a
schoolteacher hangs on her wall may come from a yet
undiscovered talent. But when it is given to you in
appreciation of your love, there is no art so beautiful in
the world! The hours at the rape crisis center are not
always conducive to watching sunsets. When you take
responsibility for the world, bubble baths sometimes have to
wait.
But once again, I ask you to think about why we are here
on earth and what is really important in life. What is the
most positive way you can lead your life? As I said before,
the key to a positive life is to always,
always, and always have a reason to get up in
the morning. I know of no better reason than that you are
needed and that the world will be a better place for your
having lived.
I cannot tell you what to do in your life. You must find
your own causes, based on your own convictions. Each of us
must use our own talent and our own strengths to give what
we can. But each of us must give.
We, who have had the opportunity to study at a college
with such distinguished academics and endless opportunities,
should not dare waste our biggest resources: ourselves.
Believe it or not, the motto of Wellesley College is not
"ite ad viam murum et accumulate pecuniam," or: go to Wall
Street and make money. It is "Non Ministrari, Sed
Ministrare" - not to be served, but to serve. If a motto is
defined as "a word or saying that expresses one's aims,
ideals, or guiding rule," it makes a lot of sense then, that
as Wellesley graduates our aim, ideal and guiding rule
should be to serve.
Hanging on my wall is an advertisement for the United Way
campaign that sometimes helps me get out of bed in the
morning. It reads:
how do you want to be remembered?
for the car you drove?
as the guy who slid into second with his spikes up?
the woman in the power suit who everyone feared?
the one with the most toys?
or someone who cared?
someone who did good?
someone who, on the day they're gone
people will say today there's a hole in the world
Congratulations Class of 1997. I wish you all the
happiness in the world.
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