Colorado College Commencement, May 19, 2003 -- Senior Address
By Quana Rochelle,
Class President
"How do We Continue to Make Meaning of Our Lives?"
Now that I have invested over $120,000 into my wonderful college education,
the local McDonald's is going to embrace me with open arms. I will critically
reflect about my job as I flip burgers -- I will deeply engage with customers
as a cashier -- and even though I'm only making $6.75 an hour, I will make meaning
of my experience. Isn't this the promise of the liberal arts education? Making
meaning? Prior to arriving at Colorado College, I was working at McDonalds as
a high school student, to support myself and to save money for college. As proud
as I was of my job, I set goals to get a college degree and to pursue my bigger
dreams. But after attending college for 4 years, I'm afraid that I'm not going
to achieve my dreams. And I'm afraid that I'm going to disappoint my parents,
family members, and friends who want the best for me. I don't know about the
rest of you, but I feel awful when people ask me "What are you doing after graduation?"
-- Because I feel guilty for saying "I don't know" or "I'm going home for now."
I hope I didn't just scare the parents, but I wanted to acknowledge the fact
that many of my classmates and myself are frustrated. We are frustrated, because
we are a group of dreamers experiencing difficulty in making our immediate goals
happen. It's hard to not get discouraged, when you feel like you have a better
chance of finding the pot of gold, at the end of the lucky charms rainbow, than
finding a decent job. The current economy is rough.
However, even if we don't have some amazing job opportunity lined up right after
graduation, we can continue to make meaning of our lives. This brings me to
the focus of my speech, "How do we continue to make meaning of our lives after
Graduation -- especially given the difficult economy?" When I first started
thinking about this question, I turned towards my great grandma Eva, because
she is wise and always gives good advice. But, before I share with you her wisdom,
let me give you a little background about her. My great grandma Eva was born
in 1922 and grew up on an old plantation in Georgia, where her father was a
sharecropper. She only attended school for a few weeks a year, because she had
to spend most of her time, picking soybeans and cotton, to help her family make
ends meet. As a young black woman in the 1940s, my great grandma Eva worked
as a domestic servant for white people, because it was the only work available
at the time. During WWII she sewed tents for American Soldiers, and throughout
the 1950's and 60's, she struggled with the intense problems of racism.
I have a deep admiration for my great Grandma Eva, because of her outlook on
life. Despite all the hardships that she has lived through, she still says,
" I have been blessed and I have lived a good life. It's been hard, but it's
been good." One day, I was complaining to her about my endless job searching
and my fear of being a failure, since I didn't have some extraordinary job lined
up after graduation. And she said, "Quana, you'll fall, but you get back up
again. If you get started on your dream, and it's not working out as you planned,
keep trying." So when making meaning of our lives after graduation, we must
remember not to lose sight of our dreams. Because sometimes we will fall. And
sometimes there will be obstacles (let it be a poor economy, not getting into
your graduate program or not receiving the fellowship that you worked so hard
for. But despite the obstacles, we must learn how to "get back up" and to "keep
trying."
The first time I really learned this lesson was when I was in 6th grade. My
friends and I were talking about our dreams of going to college. And some of
my friends mentioned how much money they had in their college funds. Since I
was naive, I just assumed I had a college fund too. After school, I went home
that day and asked my parents, "How much is in my college fund?" And they looked
at me kind of funny and said something along the lines of, "Baby, you don't
have a college fund. Most people can't afford it. You'll have to work for it."
Hearing this, devastated me and knocked me down.
Now, I could have given up on my dream of going to college, since I didn't have
the money. But, instead I got back up and I kept trying. I promised myself that
I would work as hard as I could, to earn good grades, so I could get scholarships
for college. And you know what? That promise motivated me to be my best throughout
junior high and high school, and helped me get to where I am today. There will
always be roadblocks or things that discourage us. But sometimes they are mixed
blessings that allow us to become stronger.
I know that most of you are worried about your futures, but we need to remember
what we are taking from our liberal arts education. We are leaving CC with the
tools of critical thinking, great communications skills, performing well under
pressure and adaptability. But most importantly, we are leaving with a mindset
that allows us to dream big, to see the world as a place of opportunity, and
to reflect and grow from all our experiences. This kind of mindset gives us
confidence that we can change the world and hopefully one day say, "I have been
blessed and I have lived a good life."
Seniors are also concerned about this transition, because we are challenged
to define a "meaningful life" for ourselves -- this can be difficult to say
the least. For most of our lives, the structures of academia have dictated our
identity and definitions of a meaningful life. We have evaluated ourselves in
terms of grades, extracurricular activities, and partying. And most of us have
always looked towards society or other people -- let it be our parents, our
friends, our coaches, or our teachers -- to define success for us. But graduation
represents a significant transition. For the first time in our lives, we must
play an active role in creating the structures that will reflect our identity
and goals. We must honestly ask ourselves, "What is the definition of a meaningful
life for me?" And "How do I define success?"
As a philosophy major, I'm partial to the Socratic method, and have learned
to answer a question with more questions. Thus, in order to know what a meaningful
life is to you, ask yourself the following: "Who am I? What kind of person do
I want to become? What are my gifts? And how do I want to use these gifts to
make a difference?" The answers to these questions will help guide you in creating
a meaningful life.
Building community will also help you make meaning, after graduation. Throughout
my life, I have learned that your relationships with your friends, family, loved
ones and neighbors, is what makes life rich and helps you get through difficult
times. Wherever your journey takes you, become apart of a community. Strive
to not only enjoy the benefits of a strong community, but also contribute to
it. Make it better. The people here have been the most powerful part of my Colorado
College experience. I'm sure that we are all grateful for the friends and inspirational
teachers who have made a difference in our lives by attending college. However,
often times we take those people for granted. So, before you leave, tell the
people who have made a difference in your life here "Thank You," because you
never know what the next moment will bring.
Once again, "How do we continue to make meaning of our lives after graduation?"
By keeping sight of our dreams, defining success and a meaningful life for ourselves,
and fostering community wherever we go.
Congratulations Class of 2003 and may you be blessed!