Advice for the Class of 2010

Christina-

I really like your post and really liked how relevant it is to the time of year and experiences we are going through. I think no matter if you like or dislike the president, this is a letter that all graduating persons should read. In this speech and in the excerpts you quoted in your post, there is so many things that he says that we need to consider. The fact that these are more troubling and difficult times is true, but I think in this letter he gives us all hope, hope that it will get better.

With your ending of " I would like to say thank you to the Judge Memorial Class of 2014. I wish you all good luck in the future." you too are ending your post/ speech with some positives. I think there are way too many positive times in our lives to be focusing on the negative and this is one of those times.

Great last post Christina!

Mikelle 

I thought that this post was very beneficial for graduating classes to read.  Many people think that if they just give it time, our adversity will magically disappear.  Obama's message was for us to act.  As future high school graduates, we need to enter college with a goal of bettering the future and making our society a heathier and more stable one.

Christina,

Thankyou for finding this speech.  I'm glad I was able to read the parts that you highlighted.  I totally agree with you and the president; we are facing an amazing challenge as we all move on from high school in a few weeks.  It is humbling to think that we have so much to live up to because of the current global situation.  We are graduating in a time when the world truly needs our fresh ideas to solve some major issues.  As we have the responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it, it is important to go out into the world make a difference. 

The responsibility that we have to make a change for the better is accompanied by the power to each have our say in the way these issues are resolved.  That is something to look forward to as we graduate.  Best of luck to the class of 2010.

Michael

Christina,

    I really appreciate that you brought up this speech. Our Peer Ministry class watched this exact speech a couple weeks ago, and needless to say, I was especially jealous of the Notre Dame graduates.

    I agree when you said, "I think that every graduate of 2010, collegiate or high school, should take heed of this advice." It's true. We are a generation that will be dealing with a lot, including all that President Obama mentioned - war, global climate change, a recession, and much more. I look around our own class, and I truly do see, in each and every person, potential to change our world and to do something successful with our lives. We are going to great places. I know a lot of people, including my own mother, who are very impressed with what we as the Judge Memorial Class of 2010 have already done. There is no doubt that we can do great things.
    However, President Obama does have a point when he says, "It’s times like the one you’re facing today that force us to try harder and dig deeper... These are the tasks lying before you, and I have no doubt all of you are up to the challenge." Just because our class is going to great places doesn't mean we have already succeeded. It will be a challenge. Our generation is under a lot of pressure to solve a lot of social, political, and environmental needs in this world. But, that's why you brought this up Christina. I completely agree with you when you said, "Like the President said, I know we are all up to face these challenges." I do think it's good that we have a reminder that we can face these challenges, and succeed.
    I also want to point out how important it was for me to read the speech itself with the link that you brought up for the article. President Obama pointed out a lot of young people who changed our nation at pivotal times, like the ones we're in now:
 

It was young soldiers who pushed forward at Lexington and at Gettysburg, at Normandy and at Kandahar. It was graduates like you who looked across a continent and built the railroads, highways, schools, and universities that have fueled the most prosperous economy in the world. It was a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence; a 33-year-old Elizabeth Cady Stanton who organized the Seneca Falls Convention, the first national women’s rights convention; a 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. who began his journey to the mountaintop; and a 20-year-old Bill Gates who started one of the most transformative companies on Earth.

    http://www.parade.com/news/2010/05/16-barack-obama-to-the-class-of-2010.html

    All these young adults ( and I'm sure more) helped our country to succeed, and I never realized how young they were until now.

Thanks for bringing this up. It helped me to have a reminder that we have a huge duty in front of us, but there's hope because we can fulfill that duty, just like those who came before us.

Laura