Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

There's a recurring question that often presents itself at different points in our lives. We ask it to ourselves in private and are asked by others at any given time. It comes from those we are yet to know well and from those who can see us with their eyes closed. It goes to the tune of, "What do you want to do someday?" or "What do you want to be?" and it rarely comes with a monosyllabic reply. The routine "I don't know," or shrug are devoted companions of this question, though every now and then an individual can focus the future before his or her eyes and give it a name. For the rest of us, the specifics may still be hazy. I can say with certainty that my response to this questions is consistently inarticulate. I do take solace, however, in the fact that it would be difficult for anyone to form a sentence when countless possible futures crash into their heads and rain down indecision and excited apprehension. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is difficult to answer for many reasons. It is not challenging simply because of all the choices we have, but also because it f...