HELLO!

It’s soon graduation season. I confess a little cynicism about it. For years, attending public school, I would hear classmates complaining about school, the mundane expectations, the thrill when school was cancelled, the complaining about cafeteria food. And then…on graduation day, the clothes, the limos, the photographers, the speeches. As someone who is often asked to speak at such gatherings, I can recite to you the typical graduation speech from a principal, a community leader, almost word for word. In hindsight and talking with alumni of the schools I once attended, the lasting memories are those teachers that left a mark on us. As I look back, in each year of my schooling, one teacher and her/his unique presence and guidance, stands out. I once wrote a column in the Halifax Herald, some 25 years ago, about a teacher who such an impact on me. The day the column appeared in print, that teacher reached out to me.

Again, I am not confident the photos, those limos I see at the Public Gardens, the clothing never to be worn again, connects with the experience of graduation. In my lifetime, I did not attend my junior high graduation. I went to my high school grad, no limo, because my parents had graduated from the same place (QEH). I did not attend my Bachelor of Arts graduation from King’s or Dalhousie, nor my Master of Religious Studies graduation from the University of Saskatchewan. I am not sure I would have attended my Master of Divinity graduation from the Atlantic School of Theology, but for being the class valedictorian. Before you make any assumptions about that honour, know there were only 25 in that class, and only two of us were extroverts (the other one was very pregnant, Valerie worried she might give birth that night). Kim did not attend her high school or Bachelor of Arts graduation ceremonies. Lucian did not attend any ceremonies either. The gown/tux/photographer/limo industry did not do well by our small family. We also did not keep any of our actual degrees or yearbooks. Nostalgia does not reside in our home.

I recognize we are an outlier. I only ask we ponder what our educations have truly meant to us, what lasting impact did they make? Conan O’Brien’s commencement address at Harvard, 25 minutes, struck me as funny and meaningful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3fCktnkBbc I hope you agree. I think he helps graduates make sense of their experience. Perhaps, he will do the same for you. Peace, Kevin

PS This photo is the only evidence I have I did once graduate, from somewhere, at some time. I gave the scroll/degree in my hands to my mother. I never saw it again. When my hoarder-mother died, and my minimalist-father moved out of the house three years later, this item did not emerge. As mentioned, I did not keep any of my degrees or yearbooks. I do have one photo album I made from the boxes and boxes and 25 photo albums my mother kept. What remains are my memories.