Brief explanation: The following is a mock graduation speech I made. Moira's sister, Marlene is speaking (her voice is in italics) as she is reading the journal of her late sister. What you are reading is not the beginning of the chapter for I had to make it to fit into 1K words. The ending is in Marlene's voice as it leads us to a mystery man.
Greetings to all of you! I am Lieutenant Moira Brennan, alumni of SJU. I sat in this same stage as a graduate in 2004. And through those five years of hard work, I gained experiences that allowed me to achieve goals I needed to join the US Coast Guard to venture out into the world.
Thank you all for allowing me to be your guest speaker for this ceremony. I am deeply honored. Friends, family and especially to all the graduates of the class of 2009, this was written for all for you!
I will not lie; it was hard to write a meaningful commencement speech,because I went through that cycle. Even a lieutenant like me, can have days where we can have a loss for words. (I remembered her mild chuckle as she said this phrase).I even asked myself what I wished for when I graduated five years ago, and what important lessons were learned. But I promise you I will not bore you with that.
I've noticed that usually at every graduation, people hear those tedious,long speeches where the audience wants to tune out or doze off to sleep. (I remembered how she pretended to close her eyes and quickly opened them, staring all around her audience with a bright smile.)
Don't pretend that I do not know this, for I have been in your shoes before. (The room was filled with laughter. And after a pause, she continued on.)
I see a glass case full of humble emotions waiting to get out -excitement, hope and ambition in the soon-to-be grad's eyes. So I decided to leave you a memorable speech with a touch of humor (here she laughed),humility (here she briefly sighed),honor and courage (and lastly here she stood straight and made a salute with her hands).
As you leave this college; please keep this in mind. A colleague of mine once described to me what the necessary steps are to achieve success.
First,be honest with yourself. Show your true character and be who you would want to be. If you don't; in the end you will not be happy.Second, set at least five goals for yourself each day. Once you write these goals down or keep it in your mind, try to accomplish at least one every day. It will make you prosperous. Third, be ready to network with people.
Remember you cannot do everything on your own. Make friends, meet people.Utilize your experiences and move ahead. Fourth, be courageous!Do one thing every day that scares you ... maybe in the end you might even surprise yourself. And finally, find balance within your life.To me, no one wants to be too negative or positive; just find your own set of equilibrium and you will do just fine. I'm sorry if I sound like a motivational speaker here, but these are the wise words I would like to share with all of you.
If you would like me to suggest what positive opportunities lie in the near future, I would advise all of you to gather up all the useful experiences you gathered here in SJU. Once you step out of that archway, (she pointed to the grassy archway; which was the opening to the large outdoor arena we used to fit all of the families and students)make good use of the arts, math, science, economics and other vital subjects that helped you along the road called 'college'.
In time you will be the one passing that 'Olympic Torch of Education'down to those to a younger generation. (Moira always had a way with words and would talk with her hands, since she put her arms up and moved her two index fingers in a triangular manner to emphasize the special usage of an Olympic torch.)
And don't worry too much about the future. In time it will come as soon like a snap of your finger. (Of course she snapped her finger when she said this).
Please also be aware that constant worrying is ineffective to your daily roundabouts - if you don't take a risk, you won't know what could have been. But in the end don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. There will always be errors and mistakes made, but faith will eventually take you there.
Don't waste your time thinking what others think of you. Doing so will only waste precious time like a never-ending obstacle course, and the race will never be finished; until you are going to change that attitude!Remember compliments you receive! Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, please share us your story.
As you may know, my sister, Marlene (when she pointed to me, I blushed and was embarrassed) happens to be one of the graduates. I am deeply proud of her, as she will leave our last mark in college for us Brennan siblings. I may not know her true vocational ambitions, but I do know that she will be successful in every way as my brother and I did.
Let me leave all of you with this last statement that guided through my own journeys, (As Moira made her famous military salute for the third time, she exclaimed.)
Oh captain, my captain! It is an honor to salute you. Whether this supervisor of yours will be a boss in a company or even if you decide to serve your own country, you must take great pride in what you do.Rest if you must, but never give up. You should continue with whatever you started with. And now I pass these words on to you.Thank you for spending your time with me!
Just the mention of my name in her speech made me so proud. I felt so pleased, so intrigued... that is, until I saw Moira's former boyfriend, who changed my life forever.
