Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Do we look like fortune tellers? Declare a major? Chart a course? Have a burger instead of a dog? What do you want to do when you grow up? There are more forks in the road ahead of us than at the Country Buffet -- and we're asked to choose just one! What is your favorite color? Blue. But are orange and red and puce out of the question? Banished from possibility? Put on the eternal yuck list? It just means that blue works today, but the rest of the rainbow is at our fingertips -- to use later, or not at all. We are full of secrets. We have lives and interests and talents that exist independent of math, and English, science and social studies. Secrets in the shadows of assemblies, football games, clubs, sports, dances and homework. We have friends who paint murals, write poetry, build cars, manage computer networks, train for the Olympics and save lives. Underneath these goofy caps are talents and dreams, ambitions and hopes -- enough to last decades, to build families, to change communities, to change lives. And our real destinations are secret -- even from ourselves -- and that's OK. We may have an idea, a plan, a passion. But we can't tell for sure. We will arrange flowers, electrons, words and water. We'll shape ideas, images, politics, missions and metal. We'll be productive and worthwhile, but where do we start? I'm starting with cows! While fussing over what I would do for my application project, I said to myself, "Sarah, what do you really want to do? What do you wanna have fun learning about?" and my answer was, "I would like to hang out with cows." Now, let me tell you, it is not easy to walk up to a dairy farmer and say, "Hello, can I come hang out at your farm and play with your thousand-pound puppies?" but I was fortunate enough to find an incredible mentor and family who welcomed me into their lives. A year later, I continue to learn from my "farm family," and my "cow friends." In fact, one week from today I plan to pile into a pick-up truck and head to Boise to attend the National Holstein Convention to learn more about cows and spend more time with the people who love them -- talk about great stuff! Someday, it may be because of my secret life that you've "got milk.