The post-commencement fizz

Here's a gratuitous pic of three Commies from before the ceremony. Who's that stiff-looking guy on the left?!

I'm a little off-topic today, but not by much--I just want to reflect a bit on the accomplishments of the Class of 2008 (January edition!) whose graduation was last night.

Successfully navigating your way through college is not an easy task--there are any number of ways to get sidetracked, waylaid, or otherwise disposed (and no, we're not going to get into biographical specifics on this, thanks). My point is that completing your BA is a big deal, and something worth celebrating. Commencement is literally a rite of passage, and I was glad to see so many proud students (and even prouder parents, friends, etc.) last night.

Commencement, as the keynote speaker said (in his perhaps-a-tad-too-long-kinda-sorta speech), is also literally a beginning rather than simply an ending. It's true: for the Class of 2008, today is the first day of the rest of their lives....I heard great things that our Comm grads are already plugged into, and future plans being hatched. It's exciting!

And it's a good reminder that any one class, or even the accomplishment of completing a degree, is part of the broader and deeper life-journey that we're all on....As I used to say a whole lot more often, "It's all good." True, that.