J.T. Sutcliffe at the St. Mark’s School of Texas. Calculus BC
Great teachers can catalyze a cascade of new options in life. J.T. had that effect on me. So did Steve Seay, my 8th grade Earth Sciences teacher, who helped us stain the ceiling with floating “hydrogen bombs”.
I can’t say it enough: Thank you!
I was thinking of them when I wrote my commencement speech, an utterly daunting task.
There also comes a time when you look back on your life as an adult and realize that of all the myriad potentials that you envisioned as a child, your life has tracked a path of progressive narrowing.
This observation was actually by Henry Kissinger, in the opening of his undergrad thesis. He was just a few years older than you, and he was already this depressingly mature!
Remember, as a child, when you dreamed of being an astronaut, or fireman, or racecar driver. I hope Kissinger’s warning will not be your fate.
In many ways, college should further open your field of view. The tree branches again and the child-like rush of horizons opens anew.
Embrace something new. Explore the world. There will be plenty of time to iterate and execute as you age.
A certain Alieness in Argentina translated my commencement speech into Spanish, and they just updated the posting.
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