I read the text from a commencement address given at Wellesley High School by David McCullough Jr. this weekend.  The truth in it is hard to argue with.  The brilliance of the prose floored me.

His message, simply stated was, “You are not special.”  Some may say it is a harsh message to hear on graduation.  But I ask you, when were they going to hear it?  In 18 years these seniors probably never had!

I have met way too many bosses, peers, and job seekers who I know never heard that message.  We all need to hear it. I know I did. You do too.  Trust me.  Sometimes it hurts to be reminded, I AM NOT SPECIAL.  But pain can be helpful in learning.

Look At Me!

At the end of this blog is a link to the full text published in the Boston Herald.  What follows below are two paragraphs from the middle of the speech that made me smile and nod.   But there is more, so much more than these two paragraphs that we should all read, and make our kids read.

I Am Not Special

Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.

The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.

If you read only this section of the McCullough’s speech, then you may feel he ruined the graduation of some hopeful seniors.  But, I urge you to read the entire speech.  I am attaching the link to the Boston Herald article here.  While speaking truth, he also inspired and uplifted.  It is a brilliant speech that has generated a lot of attention.

I am going to use this speech as the inspiration for the rest of my blogs this week.  One of my earliest blogs was on a subject similar to this:  American Idol- Youth Sports and Self-Esteem.

Parents please read this speech.  Educators, boss’s, psychologists, preachers, grandparents, uncles, friends all need to read this speech.  But most of all, read it for yourself.  It made me better.

The Bottom Line:

I am not special and neither are you.  Thank you Lord for using David McCullough Jr. to remind me of that fact.  May I do a good job of preparing my children for that fact as well.

Question:

Would you have liked to hear this speech at your child’s graduation?