{"id":627,"date":"2018-05-24T16:46:04","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T20:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisademmi.com\/?p=627"},"modified":"2018-05-24T16:46:04","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T20:46:04","slug":"to-all-graduates-and-pretty-much-everyone-else-of-the-class-of-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisademmi.com\/to-all-graduates-and-pretty-much-everyone-else-of-the-class-of-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"To All Graduates (And Pretty Much Everyone Else) of the Class of 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3869 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lisademmi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ld_img1-300x251.jpg\" alt=\"kindness as a super power\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Last week I delivered a commencement speech to the 2018 Graduating Class of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bellcreekacademy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bell Creek Academy<\/a>. As I was reading it for final review, I realized that this was NOT just for these graduates, but for everyone and I decided to share it here with you.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome students, friends, family, and faculty. AND congratulations to the graduates of 2018!<\/p>\n<p>When I was asked to do this speech, I was actually a little worried. I\u2019m no one famous, I haven\u2019t invented the cure for cancer, I haven\u2019t broken any scholastic or athletic records and I\u2019m still trying to make an impact on the world I live in. I\u2019m not like any of those people.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s when it hit me. I don\u2019t need to be any of those. I\u2019m different from all of them and that\u2019s a good thing. Often, I think we try SO hard to be like everyone else and we forget who we really are. Being different is good, being different allows you to distinguish yourself from others, being different helps you stand out from the crowd and being different is where your gift lives.<\/p>\n<p>That said, I do have four guiding principle that I live by and they have always served me well. They are KINDNESS, COMPARISON, RELATIONSHIP, and AUTHENTICITY.<\/p>\n<p>I encourage you to look at your new journey and try these on to see if they might be a fit for you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>KINDNESS- Always be kind. It\u2019s so simple, yet really impactful. Today, it\u2019s really easy to be self absorbed and only consider what\u2019s in it for me. We don\u2019t let people in line in traffic. We don\u2019t hold doors open anymore. We don\u2019t smile as say hello to people we meet daily. What if we did? How many times has a kind word changed your day completely? There have been plenty of times that someone has let me merge in traffic. My attitude after that is always thankfulness and probably a little relief. I\u2019m thankful that someone was actually nice enough to let me in AND I\u2019m relieved that the guy behind me will finally stop creeping up closer and closer to my rear bumper because he\u2019s impatient. When the opposite happens and no one lets me in, I get more irritated, I might mumble some curse words under my breath or loudly and the guy behind me continues to creep closer and closer to my rear bumper which really just makes things even worse. How different of a day will I have now? So please, let if you see, let me in traffic. I have a maroon Durango. Remember- be kind.<\/li>\n<li>COMPARISON- Comparison can be an ugly and self-destructive thing. AND combine that with social media and it\u2019s even more dangerous. Stop comparing yourself to other people. You will never be them and you shouldn\u2019t want or try to. I started doing CrossFit about 2 years ago and I remember when I first got there, people were lifting WAY more weight than me, getting through their workouts faster than me, and it used to bother me a lot. I\u2019d load up the bar an try SO hard but I couldn\u2019t even budge it in some cases and I\u2019d end up leaving the gym disappointed and feeling defeated. AND the workouts just weren\u2019t effective because I wasn\u2019t using good form or I was trying too hard to keep up. Finally, I realized that the only person I needed to be better than was me. These people had been doing CrossFit way longer than I had and it wasn\u2019t an even comparison. It\u2019s just like that with anything. Your experiences are always going to be different from every one else\u2019s and to compare your self to them would be a disservice to both of you. Always strive to be better than you were yesterday, even if it\u2019s just a little bit. Let that be the bar with which you use to measure your progress, not someone else.<\/li>\n<li>RELATIONSHIP &amp; CONNECTION- these are two concepts that work together. Have you ever been to a restaurant and seen people sitting together at a table all looking at their phones? That\u2019s not connection; that\u2019s separation. Take that time to be with each other. It\u2019s like sitting together, but alone. I\u2019m half expecting someone to text someone else to pass the salt. Something else I see, too often we are in our own boxes, our own segments whether it be political, religious, beliefs, race, gender and so much more. The one thing we ALL are is human. Strive to be connected with ALL people. The only way we can make a difference is by embracing each other\u2019s differences and creating authentic relationships. You want to be a change agent? Get to know all other people and see all perspectives. You don\u2019t have to agree and it will expand the lens with which you view the world.<\/li>\n<li>AUTHENTICITY- Always be authentically you. You do not have to fit in anyone else\u2019s mold. God made each and every one of us different for a reason. He knew that we could each bring something different to the planet. Celebrate your uniqueness and see it as your strength. When you try to be something you aren\u2019t, it hurts you and eventually, you\u2019ll be \u201cdiscovered.\u201d Your beauty and gifts come from your individuality and your mark on the world will be a product of your courage to be truly you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Almost done\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my challenge to you. You\u2019re really at the beginning of your journey. You have energy and vision and way more power than you think you do. Each and every one of you can and will make your mark on the world. What it looks like is up to you. Enjoy this milestone, your graduation day. It\u2019s special and important and marks something extraordinary. BUT, don\u2019t get too comfortable, because you all have an impact to make and we\u2019ll be watching.<\/p>\n<p>Sincere congratulations to you all!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week I delivered a commencement speech to the 2018 Graduating Class of Bell Creek Academy. As I was reading it for final review, I realized that this was NOT just for these graduates, but for everyone and I decided to share it here with you. Welcome students, friends, family, and faculty. AND congratulations to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,38,37],"tags":[74,75,76,42,77,43,78],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>To All Graduates (And Pretty Much Everyone Else) of the Class of 2018 - Lisa Demmi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lisa Demmi delivered a commencement speech to the 2018 Graduating Class of Bell Creek Academy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lisademmi.com\/to-all-graduates-and-pretty-much-everyone-else-of-the-class-of-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To All Graduates (And Pretty Much Everyone Else) of the Class of 2018 - 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