* * Michael's Commencement Address

The big day is upon us: cap and gown day. My only child is graduating from my alma mater, Virginia Tech, on Saturday, with a Bachelor of Science degree like mine. Plus, she’s already secured a professional job and will begin her career soon, with the hope of financial independence. Her mother and I couldn’t be happier or more proud.

Fortunately for her and the thousands of other graduates, Virginia Tech has for another year had the good sense to invite someone other than me to present their graduation speech. But I can’t help but wonder what I’d say if ever called upon. What accumulated wisdom have I gained through the school of hard knocks since my own special day 37 years ago that I would share with my daughter?

Well, in no particular order:

In a world where it’s all about the money, remember that it really isn’t all about the money. Don’t get lost in the pursuit of income and don’t live beyond your means. Use money and credit wisely. It’s hard to live a happy, fulfilling life if your nose is always to the grindstone paying off debts. See what things you can do without; stuff never makes anybody truly happy. Invest carefully and look for ways to make money while you sleep.

Live a life of service. Find a balance between what you do for yourself and what you do for others. Volunteerism and charity feed the soul. Do something great with your life in service to others.

Find work that motivates and excites you. There’s nothing worse than dreading every Monday. And be willing to fail. Take measured risks and learn from the experiences.

Fill your scrapbook rather than your closets. Travel, read, and explore. Make a “bucket list” and set exploration goals for yourself. Begin a tracking system of your own life history because your memory will fade.

Banish the word “bored” from your vocabulary, because there is always something interesting to learn and discover. Seek out intelligent, motivated people. Never stop learning and growing intellectually. Do things that make you proud of yourself.

Adult life is about the journey, not the destination. The destination will come soon enough. Life’s pleasures come in small, incremental occurrences while the miseries come in wallops. Take a moment every day to appreciate the pleasures.

Remember, life isn’t fair. As you progress through adult life, you will see others benefiting from advantages unavailable to you. Don’t dwell on them. Make the best of what you’ve got.

Don’t be in a hurry to hitch up and start a family. Great life partners are hard to come by. Be patient and select well. Prove to yourself that although a partner can enhance your emotional and financial life, you can make it on your own.

For that matter, select all your friends carefully. Look for people who support you and honor your gifts. Associate with people who make you better and who bring you up. Maintain a grouping of friends that includes people young and old, and of all religions and ethnic groups. Honor their cultural differences.

Take care of your integrity. When your days are done, it is the only thing you take with you.

And take care of your body. You only get one, so don’t abuse it. Develop healthy lifestyle habits in eating, sleeping, and exercise that will serve you well for the duration of your life.

In general, practice good maintenance habits on all your possessions so the things you buy will last longer and not need frequent replacement. Be kind to nature and travel lightly through life. Minimize your consumption of the planet’s increasingly scarce resources. Look for quiet places and eschew noise, bustle, traffic, and cluttered places.

Be kind to everyone you meet. Remember, an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. Don’t let others get your goat and don’t feel the need to retaliate. Your emotions belong to you and are subject to your own choice. Life is, or can be, filled with love, fellowship, sharing, and the mystical wonder of the universe. It will be, if you decide it will be. That is the freedom your education gives you.

Most of all, live a life of passion. Passion makes energy and energy brings successes. No commencement speech is complete without a quotation from some famous person, so here’s Nelson Mandela on passion: “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Aim big and then go for it!

Oh, and visit your parents. They always enjoy being with you.