A professor stood before his child development class and had some items in front of The piece below was written by Marina Keegan 12 for a special edition of the bleed News marks him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise distributed at the class of 2012 s commencement exercises last week. Keegan died in jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. 20 He then asked the students if the jar was full. a car accident as a passenger in a car driven 1 by her boyfriend, Michael Gocksch, When A professor stood before his child development class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. hey agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. Now, said the professor as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents the mind of each student as they enter your classroom on the first day of school. The golf balls are the important things God, family, friends, health, home, and the children s favorite passions and if everything else was lost and only they remained, their life would still be full. The pebbles represent the knowledge they have acquired up until now. Unfortunately, each child will have a different amount of pebbles. The sand is your responsibility! It is your job to fill their minds as tight as you possibly can in the short time that you have them. At the end of each year, the sand comes together as pebbles, ready to be sent off to the next teacher. The professor paused One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, I m glad you asked. He replied, The coffee is CARE and LOVE. A professor stood before his child development class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked p a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. I want They this agreed world. that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles olled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured t into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. Now, said the professor as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents the mind of each student as they enter your classroom on the first day of school. The golf balls are the important things God, family, friends, health, home, and the children s favorite passions and if everything else was lost and only they remained, their life would still be full. The pebbles represent the knowledge they have acquired up until now. Unfortunately, each child will have a different amount of pebbles. The sand is your responsibility! It is your job to fill their minds as tight as you possibly can in the short time that you have them. At the end of each year, the sand comes together as pebbles, ready to be sent off to the next teacher. The professor paused One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, I m glad you asked. He replied, The coffee is CARE and LOVE. A professor stood before his child development class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf alls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. Now, said the professor as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents the mind of each student as they enter your classroom on the first day of school. The golf balls are the important things God, family, friends, health, home, and the children s favorite passions and if everything they weren t. But it was cold and my ID somehow worked so I went inside SSS to pull else was lost and only they remained, their life would still be full. The pebbles represent out my phone. It was quiet, the old wood creaking and the snow barely visible outside the knowledge they have acquired up until now. Unfortunately, each child will have a the stained glass. And I sat down. And I looked up. At this giant room I was in. At this different amount of pebbles. The sand is your responsibility! It is your job to fill their place where thousands of people had sat before me. And alone, at night, in the middle minds as tight as you possibly can in the short time that you have them. At the end of of a New Haven storm, I felt so remarkably, unbelievably safe. We don t have a word each year, the sand comes together as pebbles, ready to be sent off to the next teacher. for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I d say that s how I feel at Yale. How I feel The professor paused One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the cof-righfee represented. The professor smiled and said, I m glad you asked. He replied, The have to lose that. We re in this together, 2012. Let s make something happen to this now. Here. With all of you. In love, impressed, humbled, scared. And we don t coffee is CARE and LOVE. A professor stood before his child development class and world. This essay was distributed at the class of 2012 s commencement exercises last had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very week. Keegan died in a car accident as a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend, large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked Michael Gocksch, When the vehicle crashed near Dennis, Mass., on Saturday afternoon she was pronounced dead at the scene while Gocksch was not seriously injured. the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled She was 22. KEEGAN: The Opposite of Loneliness. We don t have a word for the into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that s what I want in life. What I m was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I m scared of losing when we into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar wake up tomorrow and leave this place. It s not quite love and it s not quite commu- The piece below was written by Marina Keegan 12 for a special edition of the News distributed at the class of 2012 s commencement exercises last week. Keegan died in a car accident as a passenger in a car driven by her boyfriend, Michael Gocksch, When the vehicle Is crashed near Dennis, Mass., on Saturday afternoon she was pronounced dead at the scene while Gocksch was not seriously injured. She was 22. KEEGAN: The Opposite of Loneliness. We don t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that s what I want in life. What I m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place. It s not quite love and it s not quite community; it s just this feeling that there arew people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team. When the check is paid and you stay at the table. When it s four a.m. and no one goes to bed. That night with the guitar. That night we can t remember. That time we did, wrong we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt. The hats. Yale is full of tiny circles we pull around ourselves. A cappella groups, sports teams, houses, societies, clubs. These tiny groups that make us feel loved and safe and part of something even on our loneliest nights when we stumble home to our computers partner-less, tired, awake. We won t have those next year. We won t live the same block as all our friends. We won t have a bunch of group-texts. This scares me. More than finding the right job or city or spouse I m scared of losing this web we re in. This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness. This feeling I feel right now. But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They re part of us and they are set for repetition for as we grow up and move to New York and away from New York and wish we did or didn t live in New York. I plan on having parties when I m 30. I plan on having fun when I m old. Any notion of THE BEST years comes from clichéd should haves if I d wish I d I want Of to course, live in there a world... are things we wished we did: our readings, that boy across the hall. We re our own hardest critics and it s easy to let ourselves down. Sleeping too late. Procrastinating. Cutting corners. More than once I ve looked back on my High School self and thought: how did I do that? How did I work so hard? Our private insecurities follow us and will always follow us. But the thing is, we re all to like that. Nobody wakes want up when they to. Nobody did all of their reading (except maybe the crazy people who win the prizes ) We have these impossibly high standards and we ll probably never live up to our perfect fantasies of our future selves. But I feel like that s okay. We re so young. We re so young. We re twenty-two years old. We have so much time. There s this sentiment I sometimes sense, creeping in our collective conscious as we lay alone after a party, or pack up our books when we give in and go out that it is somehow too late. That others are somehow ahead. More accomplished, more specialized. More on the path to somehow saving the world, somehow creating or inventing or improving. That it s too late now to BEGIN a beginning and a we must settle world for continuance, for commencement. When we came to Yale, there was this sense of possibility. This immense and indefinable potential energy and it s easy to feel like that s slipped away. We never had to choose and suddenly we ve had to. Some of us have focused ourselves. Some of us know exactly what we want and are on the path to get it; already going to med school, working at the perfect NGO, doing research. To you I say both congratulations and you suck. For most of us, however, we re somewhat lost in this sea of liberal arts. Not quite sure what road we re on and whether we should have taken it. If only I had majored in biology if only I d gotten involved in journalism as a freshman if only I d thought to apply for this or for... that What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it s too late to do anything is comical. It s hilarious. We re graduating college. We re so young. We can t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it s all we have. In the heart of a winter Friday night my freshman year, I was dazed and confused when I got a call from my friends to meet them at EST EST EST. Dazedly and confusedly, I began trudging to SSS, probably the point on campus farthest away. Remarkably, it wasn t until I arrived at the door that I questioned how and why exactly my friends were partying in Yale s administrative building. Of course,
2 19 Ut, Nick. Trang Bang. 8 Jun. 1972. // Light, Alexander. Orwell 1984 War is Peace. 2 Jan. 2013. // Widener, Jeff. Tank Man 5 Jun. 1989. // Shillingburg, Alexa. Stand Out in the Crowd. 5 Dec. 2010. //
18 3...where a person can only do so much. A world where one individual can do, can stand for so much. Where one person can make a huge difference. A world where as a collective of individuals we can achieve the change we want. Where change is fueled by action. Where change is powered by the people. For we are the world, and our actions its architect. So I ask you, my friends, to stand together as one, to shift the paradigms for a better, brighter future. With change comes hope. Hope....where war is not an option A world where wars are annihilated, a foreign, antiquated concept. A world where freedom does not cost this much. Where freedom does not resort to taking lives to improve others. President Madison once stated, No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. War is not freedom. War is not an option.
4 17...where corporations are held to uphold the rights and responsibilites of a human being. A world where corporations have the honor and the responsibility to return to society, in the best way they know how, the resources they have received. A world where the power of capitalism can improve lives. Where it can meet demand the world over and play a central role in increasing living standards. Where the private sector upholds their duty, their obligion to meet human needs and rights. Rettberg, Jill Walker. Ultrasound. 16 Nov. 2007. // Pro Life. 11 Oct. 2006. //
6 15...where life is only taken by time. A world where life is meant to last while it lasts. Where time is the only culprit for death. Where death is beautiful, where death is accepted. A world of peace, of calming deaths, of natural deaths. A world where fear of dying is no more. Where starvation, malnutrition, preventable deaths are no more. A world where disease ceases to exist. A world where life is full of potential, and age is full of wisdom. Where time is everything, where time is life. Tomaszewski, Jerzy. Kiev Jew Killings in Ivangorod. 1942. // Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Magnolia Pictures, 2008. Film. //
16 5...where every child is welcome in a supportive social system. A world where every child has a home to prosper in, a dream to conquer, a family to lean on, a social system to provide shelter, food, education, healthcare. Where every child has a life to live. Where every child has a shot at their dreams. No one has the right to take that away. Life is a virtue and children have the right to live. TOMS Eyewear, The Next One for One. 2011. // Winstanley, Jennifer. The Children of Phnom Penh. 2008. //
14 7...where no murder, no killing exists. A world where the premediated killing of another ceases to exist. Where the conception, the thought of harming another being never crosses one s mind. Where one s act never harms that of another. A world where humans, where animals, are never deemed more superior than another. Where there is mutual respect and coexistence between the two. Where the killing, the sacrifice of either is abolished. Where animals are no longer necessary in our diet. A world where life is important, no matter human or animal. Where a life is a life regardless, and killing, murder ceaes to exist. Yoshida, Jushin. Time Lapse Milky Way at Hakuba Lake. 2008. // Mousiol, Manuel. Old Age III. 1 Jan. 2009. //
8 13...where science and faith are not mutually exclusive. A world where science and faith can coexist. Where you don t have to discredit other s beliefs to justify your own. A world that is not simply black and white. Nothing is ever so simple. Einstein once said, Science can be created only by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion... science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. Varley, Kayla. Spines and Bones. 11 Feb. 2009. // Blann, James. Athlete Writing Thoughts. 11 Oct. 2006. // Rebekah. Anorexia Nervosa. 7 Nov. 2010. //
12 9...where no one should tell you who you are and who you aren t. A world where people can appreciate life to its fullest. A world where people are entitled to their pursuit of happiness, and no one can take that away. Where you are the only person who is in charge of how you feel about yourself. A world where you are good enough just the way you are. Where you are perfect exactly as you exist. Just be yourself. Just be. Michelangelo. The Creation of Adam. 1511. // Vinci, Leonardo da. Codex Leicester. 1500. // Waldseemüller, Martin. Universalis Cosmographia. 1507. //
10 11...where nature has rights. A world where every nation grants inalienable rights to nature in their constitutions. Where nature has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structures, functions and its processes in evolution. Where the rights of nature, ecosystems, communities are placed over those of corporations. Where nature is protected just like an individual with legal standing and importance. Where the exploitation and destruction of natural resources is illegal, infringing on nature s own inalienable rights. Where nature has rights just like you and me. Copeland, Sebastian. Antarctica 7. 2006. // Deer Reflection. 2010. //