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5 Things

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Submitted By meggherb
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Class of 2016, Congratulations, we've made it!

Today is our first, “big first”, our step in the real world, adulthood, and that time when all the dreaded college loan debt comes back to haunt us.
It seems like just yesterday, we were starting the best adventure of our lives. Now, as we sit here pondering how to pay that debt and thinking about what the future has in store, I can’t help but be proud that we have made it.

Having survived the core, our exams, essays, endless nights up studying, the miserable hangovers, and the shots fired on State St., I think we all should be proud to have made it here in one piece.
In all seriousness, today is a milestone for each us as well as our families, and it is to our loved ones that we owe our deepest thanks. I think I can speak for most of us here ready to receive our diplomas, that we would not be here if it wasn’t for the endless support we had every step of the way, the shoulders we had to lean on when things got rough, and the days we thought we couldn’t make it, but we did with a quick pep talk... or a shot or two of tequila.

After today, we leave the protection of the College, the community of our friends, roommates, and teachers, to find and forge new communities of our own. I want to spend our final moments together reflecting on the distinctive kind of education that has shaped the way in which we think about the opportunities and challenges we have faced. AIC prides itself on dedication, intellectual and personal growth, leadership, social responsibility and community, and our commitment to athletics.
We, the class of 2016, are not only dreamers, but also doers. We have improved the education of our peers and advanced our own knowledge, have been committed to succeeding and winning, and we are better thinkers and problem solvers than we were four years ago.
We have spent four short years looking forward to this day. Don’t leave here tonight remembering what math assignment you missed, or what tests you’ve failed. Instead, focus on the more important things in your life. Appreciate the amazing accomplishments and opportunities you have had here, the teachers that have made a difference in our lives, and the friends who have become sisters and brothers.
The world outside of AIC is totally different. You may never again find yourself here, where the only things you have to fear is the dc food, the fire alarm going off at 1am, or if you just heard fireworks or gun shots.
That being said, who knows where our individual paths will take us in the world beyond this small AIC community, where we have all became so closely knit.

I won’t claim to know how to face the many opportunities, obstacles and challenges of postgraduate life, because let’s be real, no one knows until they experience it first hand. But, my fellow graduates, if there is a lesson for how to navigate our future paths as leaders and citizens, if there is a method for thinking about which calling to choose, which risks to take, and what sort of people to become, I can think of no better advice than to see our individual paths far beyond Springfield, Massachusetts and create our own destinies.

We are college graduates now, ready to make a difference in the world. We are standing on the threshold of endless opportunities and possibilities.
As I was driving to class the other day, I heard a quote that really struck me. “In America, success is not guaranteed, in America, opportunities are guaranteed.” As I stand here today, I see a room full of graduates who have used the many opportunities that have come their way to achieve great success, whether it was on the field or in the classroom.
As we have grown, our definition of success may have changed. For some, success may be being able to hold down 20 shots of tequila, or being able to sit in your dorm room binge watching a Netflix series. Whatever it may be, find your version of success, and continue to use the many opportunities coming your way to become more successful. Embrace what makes you an individual, find your passion, and focus on your goals. Be bold, take risks, say, “yes” to new adventure, and absolutely do not let fear define you. Appreciate moments, whenever you feel happy, relish that moment. Do not regret the past and do not dwell on the future. Live in the present and enjoy life as it comes to you, and always, always hold onto memories. Get off of social media once in a while, and look at the bigger picture, all of what this world outside has to offer. Most importantly, live for free with mom and dad for as long as possible, because we all know no one makes a better, home cooked meal

Each of us is heading off toward somewhere great, and I am confident to be able to say that I know we will all get there. When life gets tough, remember how you got there in the first place. As my pepere always says to me, “there is no such word as “can’t”, you can and you will.”

For us, this is the end of one journey and just the beginning of many more. As we cease every day, I wish us all more success and genuine happiness.

Congratulations Class of 2016.

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