A Class of '60 Graduation Speech

While going through my grandmother's hope chest, we found lots of interesting pieces: my grandfather's report cards from K-12; my grandmother's report cards; both of their diplomas from college; and even more interesting to me, my mother's high school graduation speech.

These are her thoughts, for that day, and provides some interesting insights into her thought process.

Class of 1960, Lapel High School • Lapel, IN 

 Graduation is something much more than leaving behind us our high school career and preparing to take our place in society. Whether we go to work or go to college, we must meet a challenge for which you, our parents and teachers have tried to prepare us. You have sought to teach us by precept and example, the many attributes of a happy and useful life.

But, we now have reached the point at which we become something more than your children or your students -- we mow become individuals in our own right. This does not mean, however, that we will forget all you've taught us and all you've stood for. These things are too much a part of us to be cast thoughtlessly aside as we receive our diplomas and leave this school, and possibly, our homes. Realizing that those things you have done for us were done in a spirit of love and responsibility, we feel that we must fulfill our responsibility to you by endeavoring to lead the kind of life you have sought for us and to be the type of person you have prayed we would be.

We have begun to realize that the development of our personality is truly a unique experience. We can imitate those around us and be acceptable, but then we lose our own identity and become only a rather disorganized, spineless mixture of Jim and John and Cathy and Sue and all our associates. We are no longer ourselves and can expect no one else to treat us as a person — different and unique.

Daring to be ourselves can be illustrated easily and simply by something as elementary as a dress. How often do we choose a dress or a shirt because it is the color, style, or length that everyone else is wearing? Quite possibly we look dreadful in "orange ice," but we haven't the will to differ in any way from the fad or style craze.

More important, tho, is daring to be ourselves in our thinking. Many things we accept as being right because everyone is doing it. Surely, there is no more false philosophy than this. We have seen so often the unthinking fickleness of the crowds -- today's hero is tomorrow's heel. In the time when it is our decision as to whether we follow the crowd or stick with what we know to be right, let's hope we have the moral courage to hold to our convictions and know that it is not necessarily right just because it's common practice.

Senior prom with my dad

Similarly, we are often swayed into believing in false doctrines or policies because it seems that the majority of the people are advocating for them. How dangerous this can be when we stop to think that communist or socialist propaganda is often candy-coated to appeal to us as being worth-while reform. Certainly we must dare to be ourselves here and think through these high-sounding propositions and decide if they coincide with our beloved principles of freedom, liberty and private enterprise. Would they seek to deprive us of even a tiny portion of our rights as Americans? Would they attempt to control our schools, our businesses, our pocketbooks, or our lives? This is our challenge to meet and our dare to be taken to inform ourselves and stand for what we truly believe to be the American Way.

Moreover, we, as young adults, have begun to examine our beliefs in God and to dare to follow Him according to the dictates of our conscience. Most of us have been reared in Christian homes and have pledged ourselves to a Church and its doctrines. Thus far we have believed because, and as, our parents have believed. Now, we review our convictions in the light of our recently gained individualism and begin to ask "Why?" We do not disbelieve, but we want to know the reasons behind our beliefs. Parrot-like learnings is not good practice in school, so why should it be a good practice for our churches to follow? We dare to question and decide for ourselves the manner in which we will try to follow our God.

Job's Daughters installation

The past few years have been years of educational reform. You, as parents, but more as teachers, have begun to change your ideas of schooling; of what is necessary and what is not. These movements toward excellence in education are admirable, but one very fundamental element is missing from our concept of learning. It is a dare this class and the classes to follow must accept if we as a nation are to be intellectually strong. This is the concept of elevating good scholarship to a more prominent place in our society.  The "brain" or "egghead" has too long been the butt of many a cruel joke told by some know-nothing who by some quirk of society has been accepted as the average American student.

It is, therefor, up to us, as young adults, to work toward renovating the feelings of ourselves and those whom we know, so that the excellent scholar may receive the credit due him if we are the remain a strong nation.

These are only a few of the most significant dares that the members of this Class of 1960 must accept if we hope to truly be ourselves. We hope to make this community or this nation just a little better place in which to live. This is our challenge, our dare, and to accept it we must remember the famous quotation: "Unto thine own self be true."
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For me, it's some insights into my "young" mom. It was a mere 3 years after this that she gave birth to me. Another year and 11 months after that, she gave birth to my brother.

It was about 7 years after that when she embraced her "bleeding heart liberalism" and was a very active feminist and feminist writer in the 70s.

It's so funny what you think when you're 18 and heading out into the world as an adult... and where you get to when you're 50. I NEVER would have guessed I'd be here, but I'm sure glad I am.