2007 Student Commencement Speech

IS Grad Brook Pittenger's 2007 Commencement Speech

June 15, 2007

The International School

Bellevue, WA

By Brook Pittenger, 2007 Graduate

My first memory of us as a class was the first social of sixth grade. I looked around and saw you playing poker, talking in groups, drinking the free soda, and picking out all the best candy from the goodie bowls on the tables. Now maybe it’s just me, but I feel that if they started calling them “dances”, then kids would actually dance, instead of just being really confused, and therefore playing poker. But I recall wondering how all of these kids who were so shy and so socially opposed could ever come together and form a close-knit group. But here I stand corrected, as usual, and am witness to the uncanny closeness of the 2007 clan. I am here to talk a little about life, and to reflect on taking some advice from Mark Twain: to never let my schooling interfere with my education.

As you enter this transition period, take a break. Gorge yourself and fatten your mind on the carefree coursework of summer: Jump from a high canopy of warm rocks into clear water. Find the biggest hill you can, and proceed to roll down it. Sun yourself with abandon. Debate with a good friend the proper amount of dip to place on a chip. Take some time to embrace the natural tedium of life, as it becomes increasingly difficult to escape the constant headache of modern progress. Do not be too eager to be independent, or to start your career. Most of us will spend the majority of our lives working, so now is when we are obliged - no, obligated - to take our time. Use those procrastination skills to drag out your adventures. Ask for money to fund those adventures while it is still appropriate. Actually, tonight is probably a good night for that – look how proud of you they all are! And if you ask any of these fine people in the audience about life in the real world, they’ll probably tell you that they spend most of it wishing they were back here, where we are, right now. Do not rush this, and try not to be in such a hurry to “achieve.”

After schooling, the word “achievement” will lose much of its present meaning. It will cease to be defined by standardized aptitude test scores and perfect attendance. For once, we will have no core curriculum. Instead, life is an elective. Interestingly enough, the most of life will be based on choices, and not requirements. Unfortunately for us, we have never really had electives at IS, so I guess that means we really are not prepared for real life. Funny how that works out. But I am confident that the skills we have accumulated here will be versatile tools when the time to start achieving finally rolls around again.

Always remember how lucky you all are to live where you live, with the family and friends you have. This is truly a special place in today’s world. And by “special” I mean very safe, very rich, very cushioned from the consequences of larger affairs, and yet very aware of itself. At least at International, we are all well aware of what it means and what it looks like to live in Bellevue. Blue ribbon schools, high numbers of AP tests taken, nice cars, nicer houses, and not having to concern ourselves with mass poverty are things people expect usto take for granted. But we do not. I look at you and see your ten thousand dollar smiles, and I wonder, was it really the orthodontist that gave you that skeptical look? I know now, that you know better. It is because you recognize that you are lucky to be here, and that you plan to use the advantages it gives, while not being seduced by its suburban complacency, that you have that look. You are all bigger than this town, and I bet many of you are sick of it. Bravo, you should be. Maybe it is because of our alternative upbringing within this set of creamy beige hallways, that we can see so clearly.

I’m going to be honest though; there are some ways in which you guys really disappointed me. I wanted to see the kind of high school rivalries that you only witness in really bad movies. You know… the prom queen and the honors art student fighting over some really undeserving dude whose only skill is collecting concussions as if at some point later in life he can cash them in for cookies, or at least a job at daddy’s firm. I mean come on, our one football player is the nicest guy in the class, I’ve never even seen him hit someone in the back of the head with a ball, much less follow up with the characteristic high-five! I wanted to see some bullying, some degradation, at least one real fight. But alas, you have all let me down. At first, my mind, which operates on the assumptions of instant-gratification and realistic TV shows like the OC, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was bored to death by your composure, your maturity, and your completely unsolicited goodwill. But now I see that you all are made unique by these hallways, and are the better for it. Your real luck comes from those beside you. You are the one group of graduates in this town that can reach to either side, grab the hand next to you, and have it grab back. You are not the fake “close” that many classes of 500 kids pretend to be, you stopped pretending a long time ago. Cherish this connection, but move on. Use your past to propel you. You are all ready for the task that lies ahead.

Our generation is being handed a world mired in conflict. As the great philosopher and philanthropist Tupac Shakur once said, “there’s war in the streets and there’s war in the Middle East.” We enter into a world more filled with the unknown than we have ever before experienced. It has been given to us to solve the problems of political polarization, warmongering, reducing our carbon footprint, and balancing the ideals of this country with the logic of progress. But how is it that we all feel so helpless when faced with these massive expectations? A series of events during our careers at International have imprinted themselves on my memory, and I believe that each one played a part in teaching us that the world is an uncontrollable place, and that sometimes you will feel very powerless. If you can, I want you to look around and the find the person that you were under a desk with during the earthquake in sixth grade. Find the kid that was laughing nervously, the friend who screamed with you, or the teacher who completely lost it. Look in their eyes and you’ll see that it’s all still in there, one more thing that cements us together. None of you will ever forget the restless dream that was our day at school on 9/11. Some of you were crying, others cracking jokes to relieve the directionless anger that boiled up from deep within, without warning or provocation. Find those people who held your hand in seventh grade when the old television sets were wheeled into the classrooms and images flicked onto the screens of civilization being consumed in senseless flame. I know that some of your most vivid memories come from that day, and it is not in newspaper clippings or future textbooks that you will find comfort and understanding, but in each other, those who you are close to and who felt the same sense of powerlessness. We wanted to know why it happened, but realized that the world does not always give explanations.

And so we ask, what are we supposed to do in this life where our choices make no difference in stopping acts of senseless violence, or the inevitable catastrophes that occur when the earth shifts and sighs? The only thing we can do is make our choices count on a human level. That is all that should be expected. We must distinguish ourselves by restoring the bonds of humanity that have slowly been disappearing from the larger stage. A few of you will undoubtedly become involved in politics and rise to the call for new leaders and thinkers. I wish you luck. For the rest of us, our job is of a lower profile, but is the more important of the two. We must remember to be good people, in a very personal sense. By reinstating the practice of good conversation, you are doing as much good as any politician. By playing sports in a park with a group of kids, you are providing more of a service than most professional athletes, and you’re definitely better behaved. By handwriting a letter, you will restore old practices of friendship. It is our duty to improve the aspects of the world that make it worth living in, and make it worth defending.

Do not get caught up searching for a calling that resembles the work you did in school, because people will not remember you for making a living, but for making a life. You are a fantastic group of scholars. But anyone who can read the word “graduation” can figure that out. You are each much more than just a student. Think of your education, and not your schooling. Although this ceremony is a tremendous landmark in your schooling, it is just one of many, albeit less formal landmarks of your true education. Think back to those first hours you spent here, before we thought in terms of grades and percentages. We were simply kids. Your first friends were made in classes that were not determined by your performance. Remember those pure years. Remember when you found the other kid in front of the school whose mom was always late to pick him up, and remember a week later when you finally introduced yourself. Remember the formation of our first clique, and laugh at our evolution into this group of graduates. Remember the mystery and excitement of a few new students who joined us in the following years. Never forget these heartthrobs and heartbreaks, as they are the reason for you being more than just a mark on the attendance sheet.

Go now and explore who you are. You are singers, dancers, and songwriters. You are deep thinkers, early risers, and leftfielders. You are sailors, swimmers, and sun worshippers. You are stunningly good looking, yes you. We are boyfriends and girlfriends, brothers and sisters, and while it is unthinkable to say goodbye, it will be impossible to break what we have made.

Good luck to each of you

May you change the way someone thinks about the world.  

Class of 2007, I salute you.

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