Running off the page...

Agreed.

oneshouldreadeverything:

After a lot of thought in my technology-free week at the beach, I’ve decided to stop use of my Tumblr account. I will leave my page up if you’d like to visit the archives or something & I will continue to answer e-mails if you wish to send them. I’ll miss everyone & the wonderful things you post. I’ll leave you with one of my absolute favorite quotes:

“You must write every single day of your life. You must lurk in libraries to sniff books like perfumes & wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. May you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. & out of that love, remake a world.”
—Ray Bradbury.

Stay lovely.

Emma

I'm going to the beach for a week without any computer or internet!

Yes, I know my tumblarity will severely suffer.

Reblog/like/follow if you want to help support my cause.

My Valedictorian Speech

Good morning family, friends, teachers, administrators, and most directly the Jefferson Forest Class of 2009, and congratulations. I am truly proud to represent and be a part of this magnificent class. Today, I am going to give you the best advice I can possibly give based off of my experiences here at Jefferson Forest. However, I, like you, have experienced too little of the world to provide appropriate advice. So, this morning I give you the advice I have learned from others along the way—advice that has kept me sane all these years.

One of the best lessons I have learned from Jefferson Forest was not in a classroom, but on the practice field during marching band. My band director, Mr. Webb, puts it best in a phrase he taught us at least once every marching band season. “Character is doing what you have to do, even when you don’t want to do it.” Every August we worked long, hard, eight hour days, often in the blistering heat while training rookies, making music, and marching around the field. Occasionally, he would offer us the option of walking off the field and leaving practice, because the heat was too brutal, or whatever we were practicing had been done over and over for the last two hours… and it still wasn’t getting any better. But then, Mr. Webb would say that phrase, and although a fair majority of us wanted to walk off that field, we knew we couldn’t. We knew we wouldn’t.

So, today I talk to you about character, and who you decide to be in the years to come as colleges, careers, and countless opportunities fly your way. If you have seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, you may have heard this quote: “Life is defined by opportunities, even the ones you miss.” Looking at opportunities, I have heard the entire range of options. “Always say yes to every opportunity,” on one hand, and “Learn when to say no” on the other. Both are applicable in their own respect. I say, consider every opportunity. When you fail to fully consider an opportunity, you fail to fully consider your future and yourself. Therefore as you sign up for college classes or choose a career, I encourage you to consider each one, even the ones that may not fit with your major or previous jobs. Do not box yourself into one life.

Another quote I particularly like is from the British documentary, “Man on Wire,” featuring world famous tightrope walker Phillippe Petit. In his early years, he walked across the Louisiana Superdome, the Notre Dame de Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. His most monumental achievement, though, was to walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The feat was amazing, and now 8 years after September 11th, the walk is even more miraculous and breathtaking in that he has inspired hope for generations around a place which for many seems hopeless. During his walk across the towers, one of his assistants Annie Allix called it “so beautiful. It was like he was walking on a cloud.” Another one of his assistants called it “magical” and “profound.” Phillippe spent 45 minutes on the wire, crossing back and forth a total of 8 times. Talk about a dream. To cross such a magnificent structure. One of the closing lines from the documentary is one that I think we should all keep with us to live a life like his: “To me, it’s really so simple, that life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope.”

All throughout high school we are told to not rebel. There are always consequences, whether from a teacher or a parent, friend or enemy. In the years to come, though, not all of our consequences and punishments will come that instantaneously. With more freedom, we will be forced to take charge of our own lives and trust our own conscience to lead us down the right path. And sometimes, that path may be to rebel. But, rebel is a word that does not have the best connotations.

Rebel: to oppose or disobey one in authority or control; to renounce and resist by force the authority of one’s government; to feel or exhibit anger or revulsion; to act in or show opposition or disobedience

I prefer the final definition: “to act in or show opposition or disobedience.” It does not suggest violence or tension. It merely encourages dissension, and the opportunity for change. So walk the tightrope and challenge yourself even when others discourage you. Be willing to start anew if you realize your chosen path is a different one than you have been following, for as Joseph Campbell said, “We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” You must be prepared to be surprised.

If you want to be an artist, be an artist.

If you want to be an engineer, be an engineer.

If you want to make films, make films.

Most importantly, you are in charge of you. When the day is done and life reaches its end, you are the one that will ultimately look back and hopefully smile.

And so, Jefferson Forest Class of 2009, thanks for the adventure.

Now go start a new one.

High School = Done

I graduate in 12 hours!

Happy Graduation/Birthday?

Tonight, my immediate and extended family were supposed to celebrate my 18th birthday and the fact that I’m graduating from high school tomorrow. We were gonna have a great dinner, and we were just gonna go somewhere simple like Olive Garden to accommodate everyone.

At least, that’s what we did the night before my sister’s graduation.

Last night, though, in the middle of a conversation I find out we’re just getting pizza. NO ONE told me this. Then my dad said we’d get some takeout from Outback (my favorite chain restaurant) to sort of my celebrate beyond our usual Friday treat of pizza.

I get home tonight, my dad brings back pizza. I ask him, “so what happened with the bloomin’ onion?” and he mentioned something about me having the coupon. I don’t know what the hell he’s even talking about.

And now I’m eating fairly crappy pizza. “Happy Graduation/Birthday! We know you’ve worked hard, but we honestly don’t care.”

Should I be mad?