One Last Lecture

Class, today I want to provide you with one last lecture. It's not out of the book. It's not even about reading and study skills. There are a few things that have been on the tip of my tongue to say to you all semester long, but I've often stopped them short of spilling out for fear you may not understand, or care, or even listen. But the time has come for me to say these things to you now because I believe that they are things that you need to hear before moving on to next semester or the next endeavor that you aspire to in your life. They're important things that will only help you in your future. They're little things that I've learned over the years that I need to share with you in hopes that you'll take them to heart and apply them to your lives. So, please, please listen up.

First, you get exactly one shot at this. Life, is, of course, what I'm talking about here. We get one and only one shot on earth to do whatever it is we choose to do with it. Now, whether or not you believe in a life after this life on earth, is not necessarily all that important to this conversation. It is important, but not to this point specifically. The point, whether life continues after you die or not, is that you still only get one earthly shot. You get one shot to choose to work or not, to succeed or not, to impact people or not, to be happy or not. And I truly believe these are all choices, not just hands to be dealt to you in a life-sized card game.

You can always choose to go through life relatively unnoticed, ineffective, and unproductive; or you can choose to go through life loudly, making impact where impact can be made, work where there is work to be done... Which is easier? Most likely sitting like the proverbial bump on a log will indeed be the easier choice, but is it the better choice? You have the choice, in this one chance on earth, to build a legacy for yourself. Legacy? What are you talking about, lady? I've never really been one to toot my own horn for the sake of tooting it (go ahead and get your snickers out...yes, I really just used some variation of the word toot twice, no three times, in one sentence). But I do want to build a legacy of love, caring, helping, and joy from my life. If anyone is to remember my time on earth, let it be for those things rather than the alternatives (hate, pain, sorrow, laziness perhaps?).Tell me, how do you want to be remembered?

Second, let's look at the bigger picture, the one that is beyond ourselves and our legacy of our earthly stint. Do you realize that you have the ability to change the world? What? The world doesn't work that way, right? One person can't do much...right? I don't accept excuses, as you know from class, so I won't accept any excuses about your inability to change the world. It works like this: if you accept the first challenge (choosing to build your legacy around the positive, good things of life), then you just need to start with one person. If you can convince that one person that they also need to accept this challenge, then you have, indeed changed the world. If someone like me can affect even one of you in this class to look at life a little differently, to change your perspective for the better, even just slightly, then I have directly had a hand in changing or altering the course of your life. If I can change your life, you can change another, and they can change another, and we change the world. Do you believe it?

Third, and this point relates back to the first point, I suppose, is that life is hard. It's true. Don't let anyone sugar-coat that too much for you. Being an adult is hard, and choosing a positive, life-changing perspective doesn't make it a whole lot easier. And it doesn't get easier as you gain any amount of newfound knowledge or profound wisdom. And it doesn't get easier with more money, more friends, or more possessions. But if there's one thing I've really learned this year, it's that hard does not always have to equal bad. In fact, I would argue that most things in life that are good are indeed hard, and many things that are hard are indeed good. It's in the hard things that we often learn the most valuable lessons, and it's in the learning of those lessons that we grow and change.

Lastly, use your manners. Really, lady? What do manners have to do with anything? Well, I would argue that they have a lot to do with a lot. Manners make your parents, grandparents, and people that are closest to you proud. Manners give off a great first impression. Manners will impress the ladies, men. Trust me on that one. Say please and thank you. Open doors. Give up your seat for someone. Say excuse me. Smile at strangers. And do it just because. I honestly don't even have any sound logic or profound reasoning for this one. Just do it because it's good and right to do.

Ladies and gentlemen, please don't waste your life away choosing to do nothing with it. Please don't leave the world the same way you found it when you entered it. Change people's lives. Change the world. Live passionately. And do good. Please.

And I hope that in this class that is so seemingly basic, so elementary and limited in scope, that I have taught you a thing or two about life, living, and things that are good...as well as study skills, reading comprehension, and vocabulary words. Know that when I look at you, I see the very future of this world (corny, I know, but it's true). Go forth. Be good. Class dismissed.