Dear Former Classmates:

Today is the day we graduate. Or we were supposed to. To tell you the truth, when they told us to look to the left, look to the right, I didn't believe any of us would be a statistic. I didn't buy into the myth.
But slowly, surely, only a third of my initial friends left, or transferred, and now I only know two or three of the near five hundred graduating today. Am I saddened by this? Maybe. Disappointed? It's worn off. But I'll tell you a few things I'm not expressing at your absence.
For most of you, I do not agree with what the baccalaureate speaker said about those seated before him working the hardest. Being the most determined. I still know you, I know how you're making things happen in your lives and have more self-motivation than I could ever dream of having.
I do not believe we robed and tasseled today are better than those who haven't made it here yet. One more semester or a few more years, you'll get here and have the same joy/relief/fear/anticipation that I do right now.
That said, I do not believe a degree is a be-all, end-all. Hell, it's just a piece of paper. Some of you have discovered this and are actually doing things with your life. That makes me so happy for you.