I spent the better part of June traveling and attending various graduation ceremonies. And after sitting through a few graduation speeches, in different
states, I realized all these brilliant minds are saying the same thing. Yup, it seems the five point standard issue graduation speech has to cover the following
topics – in any order: 1.) being brave enough to follow your dreams; 2.) doing the little things and 3.) doing them right; 4.) being kind, and 5.) making
spectacular mistakes.
I pretty much agree with all that. I mean how could you not? But it did make me wonder... if I was writing a graduation speech, is that what I would say?
I mean at age 18, I have to admit, I was not valedictorian material. I was barely graduate material. If I had written a speech at 18, it would have been some
general mumbling and confusion about California Coolers versus Bartles and Jaymes or something stupid along those lines.
But now I find myself a little older. I’ve traded some years for some experience. I could probably write a pretty good graduation speech. In fact, now that
I think about it, I could definitely handle this task. But my graduation speech would be different - very different - from the traditional follow your dreams
aka standard issue graduation speech.
First, my graduation speech would be short – very short. Now that I’m older, I know I’d have to go to the bathroom at some point during a long speech,
so that would be awkward. And also, I’ve just sort of learned that less is more. So yes, let’s go with a short graduation speech. Because really, when you
think about it, you only have to do one thing after you graduate.
So with that, here’s my entire graduation speech written 30 years after graduation: FIND YOUR TRIBE.
Yup, that’s it. I’d deliver all three words in dramatic fashion, pause and then take a bow, and then move off the stage to thunderous applause. Y’all can
hit the bathroom or go to Chick Fil A or whatever. It’s been real! But for those of you still reading, I’ll elaborate.
Finding a Tribe is important. Because Life is full of ups and downs, wins and losses, friends, enemies, lovers, good drinks, bad drinks, adventures,
occasional rule breaking and stressful situations. But the one thing that makes all of this survivable is who you get to talk to as you are figuring all these
things out. The immediate group around you – your family, aka your Tribe. It’s your Tribe that gets you through the lows and keeps you on track through the
highs. Your Tribe will be the soundboard on every critical question you ever had. Medical questions. Tax questions. Car questions. Alcohol questions. Family
questions. Dog or Cat questions. All the critical stuff. The fact is, your Tribe gives you strength when you need it and allows you to be strong by serving
others in your Tribe. A Tribe allows for a pooling of resources through a sharing of skillsets and a swapping of experiences through stories. And maybe the
best part – certainly the most unique, is you get to pick your Tribe.
Picking is important. You sort of are who you hang with. It’s why you’ll hear cheers like ‘My Brother from another Mother’ or ‘Sisters before Misters’ or
‘That’s incredibly stupid – let’s do it!’ when you see large groups together. So in the forming of your Tribe, choose wisely. But not too wisely. You need to
have some fun.
So yeah, that’s the entire speech: Find Your Tribe.
And actually, waiting until now to write my graduation speech isn’t a bad thing. It just so happens, I have a daughter going away for college. And she has
a lot to focus on, getting settled, keeping the grades up, and doing well in her sport. But what I really hope is that she succeeds at finding her Tribe. Because
once she has that, the rest will fall into place.
And let me just add a bonus fact about those of us lucky enough to find our Tribe: you get to share. I recently got to visit my sister who lives on the opposite
coast. And I got to meet the people she picked for her Tribe. And as I got to meet the various members of her community, I realized it wasn’t the place that
really mattered – it was the people. We could have been anywhere – Alaska, Maine, Tybee or Italy. It’s the people that make it all work. And even though
I was a newbie to the Tribe, it was evident there was room for me and my family, and I couldn’t help but feel the love. I have to say, inheriting a new Tribe
made my visit even better. So to all you new graduates out there, don’t over think this one. Go live your adventure! Go find your Tribe!
34 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | AUG 2019
Tribal Knowledge By J. Beebs