I recently attended the high school graduation of a beloved nephew. Students were asked to stand if they had attained certain accomplishments, e.g., “please stand if you were a Sterling Scholar, a member of an athletic team, received a college scholarship,” etc.
These successes are worth celebrating, but there is a deeper message to instill in the rising generation. We miss something important when we teach our youth that life’s greatest successes are found in any arena other than character development. High GPAs, athletic championships and scholarships are commendable, but are not an end to themselves. Applied correctly, these successes serve primarily to help shape character positively, to create people of wisdom, benevolence, courage and humility. Attaining these attributes requires a journey that reaches beyond textbooks, athletic arenas or performance stages.
I found myself reformatting the graduation program in my head. “We now wish to give additional recognition. No need to stand — this recognition, like the decisions that created it, is primarily an internal one. If you have done any of the following, we also recognize you: You regularly sought to include marginalized classmates; you pressed through a difficult family situation like divorce or premature death without becoming bitter; you made concerted effort to overcome an addictive behavior; you did something noteworthy that genuinely scared you and required more courage than you thought you had; you spoke up on behalf of an absent person who was being ridiculed; you had an opportunity to cut a corner, but declined; you enrolled in a class in which you knew you might struggle because you knew it would stretch you; you forgave someone who hurt you; you forwent an opportunity you wanted because you recognized it might help someone else even more; you performed an act of service no one will ever know about; you sincerely thanked a teacher or school employee with no expectation of reciprocity.”
The list is endless. For any graduates who engaged sincerely in deepening their character, especially when that effort was not platformed in the forums that attract the brightest spotlight, know that you are very much recognized. You are well on your way to a successful life.
Adam Reiser
Sandy