Santa Fe Prep - Baccalaureate 2012

[Jody LeFevers] Good evening, everyone. I'm Jody LeFevers, dean of students and this is the class of 2012 from Santa Fe Prep. We're constantly referring to this class as a collective, and they are the class of 2012, but having worked with this group each day in the classroom for this past academic year and throughout campus life for their high school experience, I honestly don't think of them as a collective. Each of these seniors has a gift, an insight, a unique character that makes them each and every one extremely interesting and thought-provoking. And you will get a unique look at them in action in just a moment. Teaching and working with this senior class over the years has truly been a gift for me. As I thought about what I would, or could, say to kick off this evening, I had trouble finding the words to express how much respect and admiration I have for these individuals sitting behind me. And then I thought about you in the audience. Parents, grandparents, relatives, friends. Do you have this dilemma as well? The German philosophers Immanuel Kant and Martin Heidegger both wrote extensively on this very problem. Are we too limited in our language to express the strongest of our emotions? From these two philosophers and varying styles, we get the idea of the dialectical illusion. In this case, how do we express in language to each of these seniors how much we have enjoyed having them in class, how much you've enjoyed raising them, how much we respect the individuals they've become, our hopes for their futures, our admiration, and our love? Kant and Heidegger had their doubts. How can one dialogue about love? So to the seniors, please understand: we're all going to make an attempt just the same. The next few days, all of us are going to try to express to you the impact you've made on each and every one of us. Those discussions about your future, travel advice from aunts and uncles, the awkward stares from your parents, the hugs that last three seconds longer than you might be accustomed to. These are all attempts to express our admiration, our respect, and the love that we have for you. So, seniors, be patient. Be patient with our feeble attempts to express the impacts you've made on us. As humans, we very well may be constricted in our abilities to express how we're feeling towards you today. But grant us our attempts. And speaking of expression of ideas, I am very proud to have the honor to present the individuals of the senior class of 2012. Kelsey. [Kelsey Currier] [Dietrich Ginocchio] Could you start it over? One more time, please. This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: huge success. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction. Commencement tomorrow. I still don't believe it's happening. For those of us up here right now, high school passed by too quickly. But there's no sense crying over every mistake. The diplomas are ours shortly after we wake. And the homework is gone and we'll see a new dawn 'cause we got out of here still alive. Endless assignments caused me so many sleepless nights. And even though Nick's papers almost killed me, and tore me to pieces, Daft Punk and caffeine both kept me sane. All the pain faded away thanks to the friends that I made. Class of 2013, I must bid you adieu. When I look out there, it makes me glad I'm not you. Now I've really gotta run 'cause my high school years are done and I got out of here still alive. Still alive. Still alive. [Coleman Chandler] Eighth grade, packed baseball stadium. I flirt, awkwardly, completely aware of my own ineptitude. Unsure about what a girl like this could see in me. Before I know it, the kiss is over. She would later describe it as marshmellowy, a description I can find no fault with. I learned how to shop before I learned how to ride a bike: Territory that comes with being raised solely by women. Suddenly, it seems I have no friends. Truthfully, the separation has been a process for months now, which has kept me all the more blind to it. Abandoning my friends without some kind of warning would never occur to me. "Hate is a strong word," my grandfather lectures my cousin. I understand what he means now. Although, at one time, there was nothing I hated more than the phrase itself. I love living someplace with four whole seasons. Winter bites, and I cherish it. Spring soaks, and I cherish it. Summer bakes, and I cherish it. Fall blows, and I cherish it. She tells me she hates me. I tell her she broke my heart. Later, I sit at home and feel stupid for pretending to know what heartbreak truly is. The longer you put on an act, the closer and closer that act comes to being the truth. You act like you have an ego the size of a planet, and before long, people start orbiting around you. Knowing this scares me. How can I tell what's actually me and what is just a play in its eighteenth act? I hold her hair back for her as she apologizes, over and over. She says a boy shouldn't have to see this. I tell her it doesn't matter, carry her to bed. I stroke her hair 'til she falls asleep and wonder: if our roles were reversed, would she stroke my hair? Would I let her? Someone once said, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Unfortunately, our society has come to value pictures much more than words. The angst of my generation is an apathetic one. Our problem lies not with our lives being too hard, but in trying to find a problem to care about. [Joey Lambert & Aysia Felson] I heard that there's a secret chord that David played and pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do ya? And it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift. The baffled king composing Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Your faith was strong but you needed proof. You saw her bathing on the roof. Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya. She tied you to her kitchen chair. She broke your throne and she cut your hair. And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I tried my best; it wasn't much. I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch. I told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya. And even though it went all wrong, I stand before the Lord of song. Nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [Kevin Carlson] If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too; if you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or lie, or being lied about, don't deal in lies, or being hated, don't give way to hating, and yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: if you can dream and not make dreams your master, if you can think and not make thoughts your aim, if you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same; if you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, or watch the things you gave your life to broken and stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools, if you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose, and start again at your beginning and never breathe a word about your loss; if you can force you heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there's nothing left in you, except the Will which says to them, "hold on" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings, nor lose the common touch; if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, if all men can count with you, but none too much; if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, and--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son. [Dominique Ehrl] First, I'd like to say that I have two wonderful men who are going to accompany me today. To my left is Mario Reynolds on the guitar. And on my right I have Orlando Díaz playing the cajón; it's a Spanish percussion instrument. And then there's me on the guitar too. Just want to say another thing: the song is something about it means, to me, being brave and not being afraid to go into the fire and I think that's what this end of the high school journey means to me and I dedicate this song to my wonderful family and my beautiful friends who came here to support me today. Thank you. I wish I were pretty. I wish I were brave. If I owned this city, then I'd make it behave. And if I were fearless, then I'd speak my truth. And the world would hear this. That's what I wish I'd do, yeah! I hold onto worry so tight. It's safe in here right next to my heart. I want to shout at the top of my voice, "Let me go! Let me out! This is not my choice" And I always felt it before that the world was filled with much more than the drowning soul I've learned to be. I just need the rain to remind me. I want to darken the skies, open the floodgates up. I want to change my mind. I want to be enough. I want the water in my eyes. I want to cry until the end of time. I want to let the rain come down, make a brand new ground, let the rain come down. Let the rain come down, make a brand new ground, let the rain come down. Let the rain come down, make a brand new ground. Let the rain come down on me. Thank you. [Sabra Mwaura] Hi, everyone. I'm reading a sonnet by Shakespeare first, and then I'm going to read the modern-day interpretation of it. Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark, whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, not no man ever loved. And this is the modern one: Let me not declare any reasons why two true-minded people should not be married. Love is not love which changes when it finds a change in circumstances, or bends from its firm stand, even when a lover's unfaithful. Oh no. It is a lighthouse that sees storms but is never shaken. Love is the guiding North Star to every lost ship whose value cannot be calculated although its altitude can be measured. Love is not at the mercy of time, though physical beauty comes within compass of his sickle. Love does not alter with hours and weeks, but rather it endures until the last day of life. If I am proved wrong about these thoughts on love, then I recant all that I have written and no man has ever truly loved. [Seth Montgomery] Some things in life are bad, they can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble, give a whistle and this will help things turn out for the best, and... [All Three] Always look on the bright side of life. [whistling] Always look on the light side of life. [whistling] [Natalie McBranch] If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing. If you're feeling in the dumps, don’t be silly chumps. Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing. [All Three] And... Always look on the bright side of life. [whistling] Always look on the light side of life. [whistling] [Andie Hall] For life is quite absurd and death's the final word. You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sins, give the audience a grin. Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow. [All Three] Always look on the bright side of death. [whistling] Just before you draw your terminal breath. [whistling] Life's a piece of ---- when you look at it. Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true. You'll see it's all a show. Keep on laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you. And... Always look on the bright side of life. [whistling] Always look on the bright side of life. [whistling] Always look on the bright side of life. [Hannah Wederquist-Keller] "L'Amour" de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore Vous demandez si l'amour rend heureuse; Il le promet, croyez-le, fût-ce un jour. Ah! pour un jour d'existence amoureuse, Qui ne mourrait? la vie est dans l'amour. Quand je vivais tendre et craintive amante, Avec ses feux je peignais ses douleurs: Sur son portrait j'ai versé tant de pleurs, Que cette image en paraît moins charmante. Si le sourire, éclair inattendu, Brille parfois au milieu de mes larmes, C'était l'amour ; c'était lui, mais sans armes; C'était le ciel... qu'avec lui j'ai perdu. Sans lui, le coeur est un foyer sans flamme; Il brûle tout, ce doux empoisonneur. J'ai dit bien vrai comme il déchire une âme: Demandez-donc s'il donne le bonheur! Vous le saurez : oui, quoi qu'il en puisse être, De gré, de force, amour sera le maître; Et, dans sa fièvre alors lente à guérir, vous souffrirez, ou vous ferez souffrir. Dès qu'on l'a vu, son absence est affreuse; Dès qu'il revient, on tremble nuit et jour; Souvent enfin la mort est dans l'amour; Et cependant... oui, l'amour rend heureuse! [Sierra Thomas] [Bernardo Miyamoto] Graduation is a huge step, not only for you. Your friends and your family don't know what to do. Will you keep in touch? Will you call them every day? Or will all of their memories simply fade away? Graduation is adrenaline, it gets the heart racing, but your poor folks feel stressed; soon they'll start the pacing. But knowing you tells me that you will never forget, your high school years you will never regret. I know that you will call your family, you'll let them know you're okay, even if you feel like it's been a crummy day. Your friends will be close by, you will surely keep in touch, for simply letting go would be a deadly punch. You will be remembered, your greatness will remain, for you have never caused aggression, hate, or pain. I write this to you now to show you that I care, and also that I'm glad that you are always there. [Griffin Daly] I have French cuffs. Gracias. [Max Croy] Okay, so... real quick: I just want to give a shout-out to Allison Stertzer because, when I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for Baccalaureate, of course Allison Stertzer was the one who said, "Well, play an Arctic Monkeys tune, duh!" So... Here it is: Topless models doing semaphore wave their flags as she walks by and... get ignored. Illuminations on a rainy day. When she walks, her footsteps sing... a reckless serenade. I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is I need. Called in to listen to the voice of reason and got the answering machine. The type of kisses where teeth collide. When she laughs, the heavens hum... a stun-gun lullaby. I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is I need. Called in to listen to the voice of reason and got his answering machine. I left my message, but did you *** gettin' back to me. And now I'm stuck, still wondering... how it's supposed to be. Thanks. [Jeremy Montoya] Okay, so first, I just want to talk to parents and family. Thank you guys so much! You're the ones who brought all of us here, you're the ones who give us all the support just to allow us to graduate, to push us to keep us going. I just wanted to say that, and also, Ms. Fisher... I love you. So much... The shells are strung together on a sash, placed on my shoulder, separating heart from body. The shells bounce up and down, clinking together, making a sweet noise, like that of the rain falling down on a warm summer night. The only sweeter sound is when dozens of other sashes jingle into the sound of the mighty drum beating. I live for this aqueous feeling, this feeling of my spirit mingling with the air and flirting with the early morning precipitation. Every breath that I take in, I give back to the sun's bright yellow waves splashing down on my face. Each breath allows me to move my spirit to the sound of those powerful drums. I rest my weight slightly on the strong wooden sticks which represent the beautiful, magnificent legs of a deer. My spirit dances around with the close to unbearable weight of the deer antlers, carefully tied to the evergreens of our sacred forest, placed upon my head. The crowds draw near to watch my people and me move to the mighty drumbeat, but they don't feel that feeling. They don't feel that feeling within our hearts. This is the day that I dance for my village and give back for all the support I have ever received. This is my goal in life: to once day, to eventually be able to give back to my village. Not because it's owed of me, but out of respect. Respect for all the work they have put into allowing me to grow and become the person that I am today. It means so much to me, so much that I'm proud to say that I'm Native American. I'm proud that I have the support from my family and my friends that continue to support me. The support is what pushes me to continue to grow for my village, so that one day I can encourage, motivate, hope, and love the youth as much as I have been loved. Thank you. [Jessie Talbert] How long has it taken me to find you? Five hundred years, five hundred thousand miles. It don't matter now. Love's always on time. Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky. Lightning flashed, everything went silent. A feather could have knocked me to the floor. Missing piece was found. I was finally alive. Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky. All our sorrows swept away forever. Each and every tear washed out to sea. There ain't no goodbye with your hand in mine. Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky. [Billy Fox & Riel Bellow] Start with your heads down. Now look up slowly. Bring your arms up, and bring 'em down. And then go up again, both arms, higher this time. Turn down. Bring your thumbs to yourself. And down. Point your right hands from low to high. Burst your right hand. Now fists to your sides. Now your fingers. Five! Four! Burst both hands. Up. Punch. Across. Crank. Crank. Stay down. Shoulder. Chin. Shoulder. And back. Double dream hands. And... Thumbs to yourself. Punch again. Now point right hand from low to high. Punch. Crank underhanded. Two pats. Shoulder. Double dream hands. Up, just like before. Crank. Stay down. Shoulder. Chin. Shoulder shoulder shoulder. Double dream hands. Again. Thumbs to yourself. Punch. Punt from high to low. Punch. Then crank underhanded. Pat twice. Double dream hands. Again! Up. Rock out now. Crank it. Stay down. Shoulder. Chin. Shoulder. And... Double dream hands. Now, jazz hands. Up. Right hand. Rain hands. (Meteor shower!) Point your hand over there. Step-clap. Jazz hand. Burst. Again! Left jazz hand. Clap. Clap. Hands to your knees. Two-step claps. Reach to the audience. Two-step claps. Hands to your knees. Left jazz hand. Left. Right. Burst. Like before! And... Point high to low. Crank underhanded. Pat. Double dream hands. And... Butterfly. Double dream hands. Freestyle! Make a tight groove. Punch! [Emily Hickmott] The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now, far ahead, the road has gone and I must follow if I can. Pursuing it with eager feet until it joins some larger way, where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. The Road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow if I can. Pursuing it with eager, weary feet until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. The road goes ever on and on, out from the door from where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone. Let others follow it who can. Let them a journey new begin. But I, last, with weary feet, will turn towards the lighted end, my evening rest and sleep to meet. [Jackson Alexander] This one right here's for Ms. Friary. [Dan Van Essen] I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy. I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need. [Jackson] I'll love you more with every breath, truly, madly, deeply, do... I will be strong, I will be faithful 'cause I'm counting on a new beginning. [Both] A reason for living. A deeper meaning, yeah... I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me. [Dan] And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky, I'll make a wish, send it to heaven, then you want to cry [Jackson] the tears of joy for all the pain and all the certainty. I will surrender to the comfort and protection of the highest power. [Both] In lonely hours. The tears devour you. I want to stand with you on a mountain. I want to bathe with you in the sea. I want to lay like this forever, until the sky falls down on me. [Andrew Cosgrove] Consider for me the Earth. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you've ever heard of, every human being who ever was lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there, on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. In our obscurity in all this vastness, there's no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than a distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores a responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. [Emily Talbot, Sarah Simis, Ellie Stone, Molly Leonard, Sully Wilson, & Lauren Buchanan] [All] Don't know much about history. Don't know much biology. Don't know much about a science book. Don't know much about the French I took. But I do know that I love you. And I know that you love me too. What a wonderful world this would be. Don't know much about geography. Don't know much trigonometry. Don't know much about algebra. Don't know what a slide rule is for. But I do know one and one is two. And if this one could be with you, what a wonderful world this would be. Now, I don't claim an A-student, but I'm trying to be. For maybe by being an A-student, baby, I can win your love for me. Don't know much about history. Don't know much biology. Don't know much about a science book. Don't know much about the French I took. But I do know that I love you. And I know that if you love me too, what a wonderful world this would be. [Ellie Stone] La, ta, ta... (History.) [Emily Talbot] Ooh! (Biology.) [Sully Wilson] La, ta, ta... (Science book.) [Molly Leonard] Mm-ooh! (French I took.) But I do know that I love you. And I know that if you love me too, what a wonderful world this would be. [Hannah Davis] I leave home at seven to get to school by eight. I drive the road from Española to Santa Fe. Every morning I see the sun rise in the East, over the Sangre de Christos. This morning, the mountains are royal purple. The clouds match their color, but they are thin, marred by holes that shine gold. Bursts of light in a dark land. Light hasn't reached the valley and the juniper-speckles bluffs remain dark and forbidding. I drink tea from my thermos. I'm driving south, but I look east, my left brain driving and my right brain thinking. The gaps in the clouds are bright, full of indescribable color. A solitary sunbeam spills across the ski basin, lighting up the fiery aspens. Trail Riders' Wall is a bowl of golden light, still no warmth in this valley. I sip my tea and stare at the road, minutes slipping away at seventy miles per hour. Camel Rock is shrouded in the softest light. My sister chatters next to me, but I can't hear her. My car clips up the Opera Hill. At the top, the sun breaks forth, round and untouchable in its glory. The Opera's white crown glimmers. The piñon- and juniper-dotted hills look alive, green and glowing in rich colors. The desert in all her gleaming splendor, alive and vibrant in the sun. On the side of the highway, that devil weed, chamisa, grows. The tops shine poison yellow and the pollen-spewing flowers quiver. Over the rise, down into Santa Fe, I can see the Sandias in Albuquerque, their summits hazy in the smog. To the west, the Jemez Mountains are pale peach. Surrounded in this isolated bowl, blocked in on all sides, is my world. Not exactly trapped, not exactly free, descending gladly into Santa Fe. [Carson Samuel] I don't--I know all the words, but I'm not entirely sure on the order, so if you know the song--you do--help me out. [audience member] Which one is it? [Carson] It's the good one! Hello? "Happy Birthday" No, it's not "Happy Birthday..." Does this work? Love of mine, someday you will die, but I'll be close behind. I'll follow you into the dark. No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white, just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark. If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs. If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark. In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule, I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black. And I held my tongue as she told me, "Son, fear is the heart of love," so I never went back. If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the "no"s on their vacancy signs. If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, I'll follow you into the dark. Thank you. [Laura Hamilton] Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and Summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometimes too hot the eye of Heaven shines, and often is his fold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometimes declines, by chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, when in lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee. [Luke LeJeune (piano)] [Chris Deissler] I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Well I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Well I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need, and if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me? Bad times are comin' and I reap what I don't sow. Well let me tell you something: All that glitters ain't gold. It's been a long old trouble, long old troublesome road, and I'm looking for somebody come and help me carry this load. I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Well I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Well I don't know if I'm walking on solid ground 'cause everything around me is... crumbling down. And all I want is for someone to help me. I had a job, but the boss man let me go. He said, "I'm sorry, but I won't be needin' your help no more." I said, "Please, my boss man! I need this job more than you know!" And he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door. I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Well I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Said I need a dollar, dollar, dollar, that's what I need. Share your dollar with me. [Henry Lanman] This is a typical Friday for the Lanman twins. Dude, what are you doing right now? [Ziggy Lanman] [sigh] Well, I'm going go to the trash pit and ride with some kids. [Henry] Alright, well I need a ride at some point. [Ziggy] Can't you find one? [Henry] Dude, no! God, like, uhm, like uhm, it's really hard to work out with Tove, and, like, it's going to be so intense and there's this other girl calling, but she sucks. [Ziggy] Dude, you always get the car. [Henry] But, dude, tonight is different; we're throwing Mase a party. [Ziggy] Dude, but that's later! Right now, I want to go to the trash pit and throw down with kids. I'm building this massive sixty-foot cannon log. Dude, I need the car. [Henry] What language are you speaking? Oh my god, we're in a huge fight right now! [Ziggy] I could, you know, Logan could give me a ride or, you know, I could ride there, but... Could you drop me off at the trap? [Henry] I can drop you off at El Gancho, but what's our curfew tonight? [Ziggy] 10:30, but mom says be home earlier if possible. [Henry] Word... [Ziggy] Well I'm going to be trapping it mad hard right now, so you can have the car tonight. [Henry] Well, I'll be at Ellie's with Billy and Sabra, so... [Ziggy] Okay, fine, guess I'll see you later then. [Danny Quinn] This is your first game, my child. I hope you win. I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning's nice. It's a good feeling. Like the whole world is yours. But it passes, this feeling, and what lasts is what you've learned. And what you've learned is about life. That's what sports is all about: life. The whole thing is played out in an afternoon. The happiness of life, the miseries, the joys, the heartbreaks. There's no telling what'll turn up. There's no telling whether they'll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you'll stay for the long haul. There's no telling how you'll do. You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing. There's just no telling. Too much depends on chance, on how the ball bounces. I'm not talking about the game, my child. I'm talking about life. But it's life that the game is all about, just as I said. Because the game is life. And life is a game, a serious game. Dead serious. But that's what you do with serious things: You do your best, you take what comes, and you run with it. Winning is fun, sure, but winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you've done is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never letting anyone down is the point. Play to win, sure, but lose like a champion. Because it's not winning that counts. What counts is trying. [Kenyon Otero, Ryan Evaldson, & Malik Rifi-Saidi] [Kenyon] First order of business: Big hands up to Jody LeFevers. [applause] Okay. So, before we start, I think I speak for all my classmates in saying that we appreciate all support we've gotten from our family and friends. Thank you so much for being for us when the times got rough, but more importantly, thank you for telling us that there's nothing we can't do. This masterpiece is for you. You see, a lot of people don't take us seriously, so, over the years, we've matured, and we've become strapping young lads. We're here to prove everyone wrong. ...just kidding. [song: "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre] [song: "Pop, Lock & Drop It" by Huey] [song: "Crank That" by Soulja Boy Tell'em] [song: "Teach Me How To Dougie" by Cali Swag District] [song: "Stanky Legg" by GS Boyz] [song: "Movin' Like Bernie" by ISA] [Sophie Quay-de la Vallee (cello)] [Julissa Schindler (drum)] [Aly Raboff (piano)] [Ben Ihlefeld] If you were falling, then I would catch you. You need a light, I'd find a match. 'Cause I love the way you say good morning and you take me the way I am. When the night has come and the land is dark and the moon is the only light that we see. No, I won't be afraid. Just as long as you stand, stand by me. If you are chilly, here take my sweater. Your head is aching, I'll make it better. 'Cause I love the way you say good morning. And you take me the way I am. So darling, darling, stand by me. Oh, stand by me. Oh, just stand, stand by me. 'Cause I love you more than I could promise. And you take me the way I am. [Matthew Sullivan] I dedicate the following performance to Nicholas Wirth. [song: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen] I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me, I'll never tell, I looked to you as it fell, and now you're in my way. I'd trade my soul for a wish, pennies and dimes for a kiss. I wasn't looking for this, but now you're in my way. Your stare was holdin', ripped jeans, skin was showin', hot night, wind was blowin'. Where you think you're going, baby? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? It's hard to look right, at you, baby! But here's my number, so call me, maybe? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? And all the other boys try to chase me, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? You took your time with the call, I took no time with the fall, you gave me nothing at all, but still, you're in my way. I beg and borrow and steal, have foresight and it's real, I didn't know I would feel it, but it's in my way. Your stare was holdin', ripped jeans, skin was showin', hot night, wind was blowing. Where you think you're going, baby? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? It's hard to look right, at you, baby! But here's my number, so call me, maybe? Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? And all the other boys try to chase me, but here's my number, so call me, maybe? Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad. I missed you so bad. I missed you so, so bad. Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad, and you should know that I missed you so, so bad. [Rob ***] When you start on your journey to Ithaca pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge. Do not fear the Laistrygonians and the Cyclops, and Poseidon and his anger: you will never meet such as these on your path if your thought remain lofty, if a fine emotion touches your body and your spirit. You will never meet the Laistrygonians, the Cyclops, and the fierce Poseidon if you do not carry them within your soul, if your soul does not raise them up before you. Pray that the road is long. That the summer mornings are many when you enter ports seen for the first time with such pleasure, with such joy. Stop at Phoenician markets, and acquire fine merchandise, mother of pearl and corals, amber and ebony, and sensual perfumes of all kinds, buy as many sensual perfumes as you can. Visit hosts of Egyptian cities, so you may learn and go on learning from their sages. Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind. To arrive there is your ultimate goal. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better that it should last for many years, and that, now old, you moor at Ithaca at last, enriched by all you have gained upon the way, not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches. Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage. Without her you'd not have set out upon the journey. But she has nothing more to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you. With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience, you must surely have understood by then what Ithaca's mean. [Lorraine Ziegler] [song: "Habanera" from Carmen, by Bizet] [Stephanie Schlanger] Well, you really can't outdo the class of one-two. But I would like to thank a couple of people that helped them out a little bit here tonight: Lisa Fisher Let's give her a hand. Brad Fairbanks. Eliot Fisher, of course, for the photography. Jody, for kicking us off. And I'd like to invite everybody to the quad over here for refreshments. And also, I hope to see everybody tomorrow at ten o'clock at commencement, on the quad at Prep. Thank you.