John Rosenthal, Valle Crucis, 1979, 1979, archival digital print, 29 1/4 x 19 1/2 in., Gift of the artist, © 1979 John Rosenthal. Image courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Art.
REFLECTIONS
GRADUATION
WISDOM
Two talks urge curiosity, kindness, and understanding
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RADUATION SEASON CAN BE CONTAGIOUS: THE KICKOFF TO summer break! Schedules loosen, days lengthen, spontaneity rules. Even the workaday grind is brightened by early dawns, late dusks, sunlight galore. Graduation can also be an emotional time full of change. “This mean old world is a tough place,” says Rev. Gregory Jones, rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Raleigh. Jones spoke to Ravenscroft students at their baccalaureate June 2, encouraging them to stay ever-curious and always kind. “The world needs for you to be curious: to be intellectually, emotionally, philosophically, and spiritually curious people.” Jones’ advice rings true beyond graduates. Similarly, Enloe High School’s Class of 2017 salutatorian Katherine Gan addressed her peers June 14 with a message of unity applicable to every age. “It is easy to give into fear and cynicism,” she says, urging her peers to instead be appreciative and understanding, always in search of “compassion and genuine human interaction.” Here are both speeches in their entirety, offering insight and encouragement for all of us this season.
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Rev. Gregory Jones “I’ve been thinking about what to say to you all for a while. And until a few days ago, I had narrowed it down to a single word. I had decided I wanted to talk to you all about one thing and I was pretty sure of myself. I thought, ‘This is it. Gonna be great.’ So I told a friend about it, and she said I should talk to you about something else. I was annoyed. I was annoyed at what she said I should say because I already knew what I wanted to say. I already knew what I thought, and what I wanted to say, and when she said I should say something else – I dismissed what she said I should say. Because that’s how people do it now right? People already know what they think. They already have their opinion. They already know what they are going to say, and they don’t listen to others, especially when they don’t agree. Right? Wrong. I thought about what my friend had
