Measure of a man

How do you measure a man?

Do you measure him by his silver and gold? Is it by the number of awards he collects? Is it by a magic quotient on a sheet of paper?

Sure, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, nor the richest. When my graduation rolls around, I won't be wearing a million cords and tassels and medals and bells and whistles.

But what does that tell you about my college career? That it wasn't successful? That it wasn't meaningful? While all of those things may be significant for that one moment that you walk across the stage, after that moment is over, those medals and tassels will go into a box and, for the most part, forgotten. After all - forewarning of a big shocker - your graduation isn't the end of your journey. But maybe that's not a bad thing, because after the big gaudy show, you're left with the memories. And doesn't that count more anyway? So think about it... what means more to you? That someone hands you a piece of paper saying what you've done? Or that, at the end of the day, you can remember the good and the bad moments that you've had along the way? You can remember all of the people, all of the inside jokes. And some of the outside jokes too.

No, I'm not trying to devalue graduation (although a number of people will agree that it's just a show we put on for the parents). So rather than , measure a man by his friends. Measure him by his deeds. You know, the journey, not the destination. In fact, for a lot of people I know who are only here because it's the halfway point to another goal, they tend to be less happy.

Maybe this is just my way of coping with the fact that, for me, these past three years have gone by in a flash, and I'm not sure that I'll be ready to leave at the end of the fourth. And even if they want me out, I want to make sure that I have something to show for it, and not just a degree. Hopefully you all feel that way too.

Congratulations, class of 2006.