This past graduation season, I got to experience something very special that I doubt I will ever see again: a triple valedictorianship. Not only did I get to watch the class a year under me accomplish such an interesting feat, but I was able to proudly say I knew all three gentlemen who tied for this honor. As I listened to their commencement speeches, I was particularly struck by the words of somebody who had been my fellow classmate, teammate, and competitor for three years of my high school career. So, without further ado, here I have for you a speech worth reading.
"Good evening, everyone. I want to thank each and every one of you for coming here today to celebrate the accomplishments of the class of 2016. We are very proud of what we were able to accomplish and are so glad you can be here to support us. I believe it is fitting that my last assignment in high school, this speech, was jammed in a few hours before it was due. Mrs. Potter asked me for a copy of my speech by noon today. I ended up rolling out of bed at around noon today. I quickly realized this was not going to be easy. But, after much thought and prayer, I decided that I wanted to speak about our happiness as an individual in a world that exceedingly deviates from Christ.
"We have all accomplished something here today, something to be proud of: our graduation from high school. But what does this accomplishment mean? Will we let it define us? Will we let the diplomas of this world constitute who we are? I believe we will find no everlasting joy in these endeavors. Speaking on the condition of the youth in this country and destitute nature of worldly endeavors, F. Scott Fitzgerald described our youth as a generation 'That found all gods dead, all wars fought, and all faiths in man shaken.' I don’t know about you but I don’t want to live in F. Scott Fitzgerald's world. I don’t want to live without a purpose.
"One thing that I believe every person in this room would agree on is that they desire to be happy. As Augustine put it, 'If two people are asked if they want to serve in the army, it may turn out that one of them replies that he would like to do so, while the other would not. But if they are asked whether they would like to be happy, each would at once say without the least hesitation that he would choose to be so. And the reason why one would wish to be a soldier and the other would not is only that they want to be happy.'
"But why do we desire to be happy? Have you ever wondered why we are not just comfortable with existing? We desire to be happy because deep down, we know there has to be more. As a class, even when we go through the dull drudgery of our days trying to get through a Monday after we stayed up way too late trying to get our physics homework done, we constantly believe and know that the current state is temporary and that there is a future that is more positive. Christians and non-Christians alike, across all nationalities, desire to reach a place in which they are happy. The magnitude of what this apparent end goal implies is that there is such a place -- that a state of happiness exists, and that because it exists, someone had to put it into existence. But why do so many of us in the world never seem to obtain it?
"It isn’t for lack of trying or dedication to bettering ourselves academically or socially. One thing we cannot say about the human race is that we do not try to advance our standing in this world. We try to rack up diplomas much bigger than the ones we will receive here today.
"These things will bring us no joy. How then can we become happy?
"To answer that question, we must give up the self-centered and egotistical implication that this question assumes. The premise of this question places us at the center of our lives. What I mean by that is that by asking how we can become happy, we are placing ourselves at the center of our lives. To truly find happiness, we must abandon the notion of finding happiness and replace it with the notion of finding our purpose.
"Take for instance the border collie which was bred in England for its high level of intelligence. Its main purpose is to herd sheep and livestock. If you watch this animal, you will see that it is most contented and happy when it is doing the job that it was assigned to do. The same is found in human beings. Each and every one of us has a unique purpose that only that person can fulfill. Only when we do the job assigned to us by our Lord, can we be truly living a fulfilling life that is filled with true joy and happiness.
"To find this joy we must continually submit ourselves to God, love God, and live for something Greater, which is God. Mark writes, in Mark 8:35, that 'for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.' Without centering our lives around God, and not ourselves, we will never fulfill our purpose, and therefore, never have true joy and happiness. To the underclassman, go after God with all your heart and search for your purpose. Do not be afraid to make your faith evident. It is our purpose as students graduating from this school to lead others to Christ and be a light in this dark world.
"Finally, a professor at the University of Richmond told me to only come to Richmond if I was willing to not only make myself better but to make the University better. I believe this is exactly what the underclassman and next year’s seniors must do. You must make sure you are not only making yourself better by finding your purpose but also making this school a better place. Your impact will be bigger than you will ever know. Be someone others will miss, not because of your vanity, but because of the positive impact you had on their life." Mason Zadan.
Zadan will be attending the University of Richmond as a part of the class of 2020 pursuing a degree in physics.
