Celebrating Graduations - Commencement

Welcome to the May 28, 2007 edition of Celebrating Graduations - Graduation Blog Carnival!

I have the first entry for this week from TherapyDoc who wrote that "There really is a difference between them, you know." aboutCommecement at Every One Needs Therapy.
It's a really fitting post to start this blog carnival and big THANKS! to Therapy Doc. So without further ado, here's his post...

The truth? Graduation's a real trick box for me.

I missed every one of my own except for 8th grade. I graduated high school early and college late (with free housing and tuition, wouldn't you?)

Both the Master's and the PhD ceremonies at the University of Illinois took place on Saturdays.

So over the years I've made it my business to go to these things when I could, make a presence in the school auditoriums, bleachers and gyms. True, it wasn't easy sitting through the many leaps into eternity, but having a pager (in the days before cell phones we had pagers) it was easy to excuse myself to find a phone.

Therapy docs can get pretty busy, especially when someone's giving a speech.

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I love the costumes at these things, the robes, the tassels, the sashes, the ropes. I love the idea of 4,000 kids throwing their black caps into the air at the same time. I love seeing the college kids strutting and smiling, parents snapping pictures, getting it all on videotape. And there's the pride, the mutual sense of sacrifice (parents pay, pay, pay, for kids to learn, learn, learn). And the sheer press of humanity trying desperately to fill a football stadium or a basketball dome, knowing that without cell phones we'd all be separated in the throng forever (meet me at the top of the stairs outside to the left, past the turtle).

I love that the stadium is at capacity with people doing the right thing, suffering through the pomp and circumstance because their kids shouldn't have to go it alone. Nah, my parents couldn't make it. As children of a 2 working-parent household, my kids said that so many times. I came in late to so many school plays and I missed many, many things.

I love looking at the faces, mainly, and the clothes, the polyester, the silk, the leather, and the hair! The gray hair of the middle-aged juxtaposed against the long, jet black or brunette, blond locks of youth.

I just love the SCENE. I'm not even going to tell you how much I love a college campus, almost any college campus, and how red brick buildings drug me senselessly.

F.D., on the other hand, hates these things. We went to our son and daught-in-law's graduation at the University of Maryland yesterday.

"I hate these things," F.D. moaned.

D-I-L's mother: "I can think of a million things I'd rather be doing and should be doing. Can't you?"

Uh, no.

But again, I usually don't sit through the whole thing. I get up, I make calls. I walk around the entire periphery of the building. I look for art work, plaques. I read names.

And afterwards I still get to see the kids laughing and smiling, smacking those high fives with their friends.

Sunday night I DID sit through the whole thing. I sat through the WHOLE thing and IT WAS DREADFUL. The speeches were really horrible. So, so boring, and the one speech that could have been good, the one about selflessness and leadership rubbed me wrong. How could he tell us how selfless he is? Is it selfless to say you're selfless? I don't know. All I could do was shake my head.

This brought up the inevitable question, Could you, TherapyDoc, do a better job? Could you give a decent commencement speech?

No, I thought, probably not.

Oh, heck. Why not give it a try? What have we got to lose?

It's almost finished, actually.

Copyright 2007, therapydoc

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That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Celebrating Graduations using Blog Carnival's carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

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Celebrating Graduations Blog Carnival!

The months through May and June make up the highest amount of Graduation Celebrations. That's why I'm hosting a Graduation Blog Carnival! So send in your blog posts with photos and all to daverichards06@gmail.com and I'll be doing weekly posts. If there are more people submitting I might be doing a Daily Carnival until the end of June.

There are no real guidelines for the blog carnival except for no racist or derogatory posts -- keep your language clean -- aim for the rated G audience.

It has to be about Graduation -- any aspect of it.

Lets have a happy carnival!

	Your Friendship Is A Joy ! Wish your friends who have graduated with this warm and touching ecard [ Flash ]		2 Ape-solute Geniuses ! Make your friends/ fellow grads go LOL with this fun-to-the-max ecard. [ Interactive ]
	U R Cool And Smart ! Bring on the smiles of your friends who have graduated with this fun filled ecard. [ Flash ]		Hats Off To You My Friend ! Send this ecard to wish all those gals who have graduated with you and have been a great friend. [ Flash ]

Wish Congrats To Your Friends On Graduation

Congratulate your fellow classmates on their Graduation. You can also wish your Son, daughters and someone in your family for Graduating . Send these Congrats on your Graduation Greeting cards and make them feel special

	Your Hard Work Has Blossomed ! Reach out to the new grads you know with this warm and beautiful ecard. [ Flash ]		May Your Dreams Come True ! Congratulate and encourage all your dear ones who have graduated with this beautiful ecard. [ Flash ]
	Congrats To You ! Say congratulations to all the proud grads you know with this cool and cute ecard. [ Flash ]		Congrats On Graduating ! Appreciate the hard work of your friend/ fellow grad/ bro with this cool ecard. [ Flash ]
	Every Day Is Yours ! Make your daughter/ student/ friend feel special on her Graduation with this warm and inspiring wish. [ Flash ]		You Have It In You ! Congratulate your friend/ son/ daughter/ bro/ sis/ dear one on graduating with this cool and cute ecard. [ Flash ]
	Reach For The Stars ! Send this cute ecard to appreciate and encourage your friend/ bro/ sis/ loved one who has graduated. [ Flash ]		Scribe Success And Happiness ! Reach out to all the new grads you know with this warm and inspiring ecard. [ Flash ]

	Reach Out To Greater Success ! A warm and inspiring ecard to appreciate the hard work of all the new grads you know. [ Flash ]		Soar High ! Send this ecard to congratulate your son/ daughter/ student who has graduated and to inspire him/ her to move on. [ Flash ]
	Congratulations And Happy Graduation ! Congratulate a new grad for his/ her hard-earned Graduation with this cute ecard. [ Flash ]		Big Round Of Applause ! Say congratulations to your friend/ loved one with a big round of applause. [ Flash ]
	Here's To You ! A warm and beautiful ecard to congratulate a new graduate on his/ her success. [ Flash ]		Certificate For The Coolest Grad ! Congratulate a friend/ loved one who has graduated with this cool and cute ecard. [ Flash ]

How to take Great Graduation Pictures

Taking pictures on Graduation Day is a big deal. If they don't turn out ok, you won't get a second chance at them. Here's a coupe of tips I found on About.com that you can follow --

Prepare properly
Here's a check list from Kodak Canada that you should go through:

• Fully charge batteries the day before
• Place a spare set of batteries with the camera
• Empty the picture card so you get the maximum number of pictures
• Put the picture card in the camera
• Bring a spare picture card if you're taking lots of pictures (Or if you're a fast shooter like me.)
• Bring an accessory telephoto lens
• Know how to turn on your camera flash for use in bright daylight
• Take a few pictures and make sure everything is working right

Make sure you check all this a day before at least so you know you have the stuff right.

I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille --
Ask the school or the person in charge where you would be able to take pictures. They might have a place for it. Use a telephoto lens or a camera with a good optical zoom lens.

Get Candid
Don't get all photos of people posing, staged or planned. Get into the action, get up close and personal -- you can click pics of graduates hugging family members, dressing in graduation gowns, talking to friends and teachers/professors after the graduation etc. Capture the emotions -- smiles, tears and laughs -- these will be the moments that last forever on film.


Send this Graduation eCard !

Where's the light?
Remember you're shooting under the May-June sun. When you're shooting out doors, make sure the sun is not directly behind the photographer or the graduate -- you don't want the graduate squinting in pictures or having a black shadow. Have a flash and make sure you have the necessary charge/batteries for it. It'll help with the shadows.

Remember to be in the picture too!
If you're a graduate or family member of the graduate don't forget to be in some of the pictures. Sometimes we get carried away with taking pictures that we forget to be in them. Just remember to be in some of them!


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Commencement Speech - Jon Stewart

Sometimes colleges and universities get celebrities to give the commencement speeches -- that way, there's no need for public relations stuff. But sometimes they just give the celebrity an honorary degree so he or she could give the commencement speech as well as bring the media. That's exactly what the College of William & Mary did with Jon Stewart and here's the commencement speech he gave:

Thank you Mr. President, I had forgotten how crushingly dull these ceremonies are. Thank you.

My best to the choir. I have to say, that song never grows old for me. Whenever I hear that song, it reminds me of nothing.

I am honored to be here, I do have a confession to make before we get going that I should explain very quickly. When I am not on television, this is actually how I dress. I apologize, but there’s something very freeing about it. I congratulate the students for being able to walk even a half a mile in this non-breathable fabric in the Williamsburg heat. I am sure the environment that now exists under your robes, are the same conditions that primordial life began on this earth.

I know there were some parents that were concerned about my speech here tonight, and I want to assure you that you will not hear any language that is not common at, say, a dock workers union meeting, or Tourrett’s convention, or profanity seminar. Rest assured.

Read the rest of Jon Stewart's Commencement Address.

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Graduation Song - Seasons of Love by RENT

How do you measure a year? In fact how do you measure four years of high school or four to six years of college? Of course you can measure it in days and minutes but what about moments and what about Love? That's why I just love the song from RENT "Seasons of Love" I think it'll top the charts as a graduation song. I saw the musical on Broadway and it was fantastic. Here's the music video -- not as cool as a live performance but it'll make do.

For those of you interested in performing in your graduation or singing along here are the lyrics I got off from: Stl Lyrics

five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you measure? measure a year

in daylights,
in sunsets,
in midnights,
in cups of coffee,
in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife

in five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
how do you measure a year in a life?

how about love?
how about love?
how about love?
measure in love...
seasons of love...
seasons of love...

(female soloist)
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes
five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan
five hundred twenty five thousand suix hundred minutes
how do you measure a life of a woman or a man

(male soloist)
in truths that she learned
or in times that she cried
in bridges he burned
or the way that she died

(all)

its time now to sing out though
the story never ends
let's celebrate remember a year in a life
of friends

remember the love...

(oh you gotta remember the love)
remember the love...
(oh yeah, its a gift from up above)
remember the love...
(sing out, give out, measure your life
in looooooove...!!!)
seasons of love...
seasons of love...

Happy Mother's Day!

I don't know if you know but I have another blog - Love Poems and Love Quotes - that I post on a regular basis. So for Mother's Day I figured I'll just share a poem with you. I found it on Poems About. I really liked this poems because I know without our mothers we wouldn't be able to go to school or graduate. So here's to mothers who help us get to school, graduate and have secure futures!

Mother's Hands

Mother's hands took us to school
Mother's hands in the morning
Mother's hands rain, protecting us
Mother's hands act as awning
Mother's hands would hold our face
Mother's hands held the tears
Mother's hands brail our face
Mother's hands read our fears
Mother's hands held compassion
Mother's hands would bake
Mother's hands give us her ration
Mother's hands give not take
Mother's hands lined by caring
Mother's hands not smooth
Mother's hands map understanding
Mother's hands every groove

by Duncan Wyllie

	The One I Can Never Do Without... Send this beautiful poem to your mom or someone like her for always being there for you. [ Flash ]		You Are The Woman I Want To Be ! In a poetic way say a warm thank you to your mom for all her love 'n care. [ Animated ]
	I Am Lucky And Happy... On Mother's Day, send this beautiful poem to your mom and make her feel special. [ Postcard ]		Right From My Heart... A cute poem to say a warm 'I love you' to your mom on Mother's Day. [ Animated ]

Continuing Education for Moms

When you have a kid or have a child on the way, it's hard to concentrate on your studies. You also know that there are perks to having a degree under your belt. So what's the thing to do? Online degrees. There's a lot of good programs out there that you can enroll yourself into. Check out ELearners to know about the subjects that you might be interested in. There's an article on Main Street Mom that tells you about Don who took Associates Degree first and then a Bachelor's Degree. His advice is 'stick to a schedule like your life depended on it'.

	Happy Mother's Day ! An elegant egreeting to wish your near 'n dear ones on Mother's Day. [ Flash ]		Just For You... Wish someone special on Mother's Day with this beautiful rose. [ Postcard ]
	Wishing You A Day... With a beautiful bouquet of flowers send your loving wishes to your loved one. [ Flash ]		Wishing You Smiles And Happiness... Wish someone who has given you a reason to smile with this elegant ecard. [ Flash ]
	If Flowers Were Words... Send someone dear this beautiful bunch of virtual flowers to say how special she is to you. [ Flash ]		Like These Flowers In Bloom... Greet your mom/ aunt/ grandma/ friend a bright 'n beautiful Mother's Day. [ Flash ]
	I Have You ! Express to someone special how she fills your world with smiles with this beautiful ecard. [ Flash ]		Know Why Me's Here... Across the miles send your warm wishes to your mom on Mother's Day. [ Interactive ]

Graduating Mothers

Graduation and motherhood -- what has each to do with anything? Well apparently a lot! Did you know that only recently having a graduate degree is a plus point to getting married? As close as 1980, the more years you had in graduate school the American woman is less likely to be married and more likely to be childless. This trend had been disappearing only recently. If you have a graduate degree now, you are 14% more likely to be married. Did you hear that ladies?

And no, it's not me saying all this nonsense -- it's Elaina Rose, a University of Washington associate professor of economics who did all the study by looking at millions of US census bureau data. And she found that in 1980, a woman that age who had completed three years of graduate school was 14 percentage points less likely to be married than her counterpart with only a high school diploma. By 2000, that 14-point difference had melted to 5. What does that mean? It means if you're a woman and are afraid of not having a family because you're highly educated, don't be. Go to graduate school, even get a Ph.D. and still be successful -- you can have your cake and eat it too! Isn't that nice to know?

If you're interested to read the whole study here's are the links:
Does Education Really Disadvantage Women in the Marriage Market?
Education and Hypergamy in Marriage Markets

Happy Mother's Day! With a bouquet of flowers wish your working mom a 'Happy Mother's Day'. [ Flash ]

Doing Homework Comes Easily To You Mom! On Mother's Day, reach out to your great mom this smart ecard. [ Flash ]

	Priceless Feelings... A fun-n-funky mother's day card to bring a smile on your mom's face... [ Flash ]		Lost Without You... Raise your CQ [Cute Quotient] in your mom's eyes by sending her this really cute mother's day e-card... [ Flash ]

	Happy Mother's Day ! A beautiful ecard to wish all the amazing moms you know on Mother's Day. [ Animated ]		A Bright And Wonderful Day... Brighten up this special day for your loved ones by sending them an egreeting. [ Flash ]
	Just For You... An elegant ecard to wish someone special a 'Happy Mother's Day'. [ Animated ]		Perfect Mom Let your mom know how much you love & appreciate her with this e-card... [ Flash ]
	Warm Wishes And Happy Thoughts... Send this lovely ecard to your mom/ sis/ step mom/ dear ones on Mother's Day. [ Flash ]		Without You... Send this touching mother’s day card to your mom/ step mom/ wife/ single mom/ gf/ fiancée/ as a token of appreciation for their love & kindness. [ Flash ]
	Everlasting Love... Express your love & admiration for your mom/ grandma/ nanny/ aunt with this touching e-card on mother’s day... [ Flash ]		Today Is Mother's Day ! Express your love to your mom as you send her this warm 'n beautiful ecard. [ Flash ]