It seems like only yesterday when my mom and I hopped on a plane and flew to Boston to visit Tufts for the first time. Now, I am about to say goodbye to this university and all the wonderful people that I have met here. Four years of my life went by in a flash. And yet, so much has happened since and so many things have changed in my life that four years ago seems as remote as ever.
This strange notion of time is not the only unusual feeling I experience today. I am happy and proud to graduate from Tufts, but I am also deeply sad to leave this place behind. I am sure that most of us seniors have the same set of mixed feelings about graduating from college. We know that our college years are not necessarily the "best years of your life" as people like to say - otherwise, what would we be looking forward to? But we are also aware that our four-year-long college party is over.
I guess our seemingly endless nap-taking, pizza-eating, beer pong-playing days of careless joy had to end sooner or later. But we will miss our college lifestyles nonetheless. We will miss socializing in the library, hanging out with dorm buddies, observing the Naked Quad Run, or just lying down on the President's Lawn on a warm spring day.
Surely we will miss our friends the most. We all have made great friendships and met remarkable people throughout our years here. Some of them have touched our lives in ways we never imagined, and their love and camaraderie will remain imprinted in our souls forever.
Inevitably, however, we will have to say goodbye to many of them today. Most of us will go our separate ways and end up scattered in hundreds of different places around the world. Staying in touch with them will be a challenge. But we will never forget them and they will never forget us.
We will also miss our professors. They were often our friends and mentors and we learned so much from them - more than we realize now. Their passion for their fields of study inspired us and encouraged us to expand our minds. My favorite member of the faculty has been John Jenke, assistant director for the International Relations Program.
He has also been my academic advisor from the first day I came to Tufts. To me, John Jenke epitomizes everything an educator should aspire to be. He was kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in students and their intellectual development. I will always remember and cherish our long talks in his office (which was always open to everyone) about politics and international affairs. He always gave me sound advice and always encouraged me to do my best. I will miss John Jenke. And this university will soon realize what a terrible mistake it was to fire such a fine educator. Thank you for everything, John.
But we leave today not only with good memories, but also with valuable lessons that will live on and will define our professional and personal careers. We actually did learn a lot of stuff, lest our parents think their money was invested in a four-year vacation! We learned never to be apathetic; to care about what is happening around us, be it in the field of international relations or biotechnology. We developed opinions about issues that affect our lives and we learned to express them freely and respectfully. We learned that everything that is going on around us affects us, one way or another, and that we ignore those things at our own risk. We learned that we live in a highly interconnected world, a truly global community, in which events from distant places have decisive impacts in our lives. We learned to think beyond our preconceived notions, to transcend our own limited understanding of life by listening and learning from others. We learned to appreciate diversity, not only of culture, race or religion, but also of thought and sensibility. But the most valuable lesson of all is that we are in charge of our own destinies. It is up to us to decide how high we want to fly and where we want to go.
But none of this would have happened - not the memories, not the friends, not the faculty, and not the lessons - without the love and hard work of those who care about us the most: our parents. I have only my mom and dad to thank for these four wonderful years. Words cannot begin to express the extent of my gratitude. As all our parents are painfully aware, college does not come cheap. But neither does being away from your children. They have made so many sacrifices to ensure that we get an education and, in the process, have the time of our lives. I really hope that when they see me getting that diploma today they will say to themselves that it was all worth it. I know it was. Mom and Dad, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so very much.
When we first got here, during our Matriculation ceremony, then President John DiBiaggio reminded us that Commencement means 'beginning.' We have our whole lives ahead of us and there is still much to be learned. My fellow graduates, I wish you all the best. Remember that life is like dancing tango: "If you make a mistake and get tangled up, you just tango on."
Rodrigo De Haro is a senior majoring in International Relations. He can be reached at deharo@tuftsdaily.com
