Vicarious Commencement

Sometimes when you let enough bloggable stuff happen to you without blogging about it, it becomes overwhelming and you never get around to any of it. I haven't been completely silent on my blog for the last few weeks, but in proportion to the bloggability of my life I've been slacking. I'm not going to try to catch up, but I'll see if I can finish up a couple that I began, starting with a sort of early one about spring commencement.

I was disappointed to find out that President Obama was the spring commencement speaker at the University of Michigan this year, because I was just barely missing the deadline to be able to walk in said graduation. How often do you have the chance to go see the President of the United States speak? Fortunately, I had connections and I got a ticket from Brian (who was indeed graduating) and a seat way up at the top of the Big House with Brady, Preston, and Dave, the winners of his remaining three coveted tickets. I was glad I made it. It was just kind of cool to be there, and to watch the presidential helicopter pass by overhead, and to listen to President Obama give what I thought was a really good speech - even if you're not an Obama fan, I'd recommend reading the text if you have a chance. It actually made me think a lot about how I think about government and citizenship and my role in a democracy.

After I told my dad I'd send along a link to the text of the speech, I decided I might as well make a blog out of it. After all, plenty of bloggable stuff that happened that day (adventures getting down to the stadium and such) but when I looked at the few pictures I'd managed to take I had another idea. Almost all my photographs were distance shots of masses and masses of people, and it kind of reminded me of Where's Waldo. So I thought it would be fun to do a Where's Waldo-themed post, and I zoomed in on one of my shots to try to find interesting things for my blog readers to pick out.

Alas, it was not to be. In Waldo World I would have found a Tower of Donuts About to Collapse over at the graduate breakfast table, and a Proud Parent dabbing at her red-faced graduate's cheeks with a handkerchief that she had just spit on, and a Confused Football Player in full quarterback gear who thought he was showing up to the stadium for a game. There would have been Chairs Facing the Wrong Direction, an Odd Couple, an Overexcited Alumnus, a sound system guy tied up in a speaker cord, lots of people wearing deceptively red-and-white-striped scarfs and hats and trousers, and at least one dog causing mischief. Unfortunately for my blog post, the most interesting things I could find in my actual picture were a stray styrofoam cup, a girl in knee-length graduation robes, and a graduate talking on his cell phone. And definitely no Waldo. (But Brian's in there. Can you find him?*)


Anyway, even if my blog idea didn't completely pan out, attending commencement was a fun experience, and it was nice that I got to be there since, given the timing of my degree completion, I may not be able to walk in full doctoral-robed splendor myself. I'm not finished quite yet, but I do have a dissertation defense date set. After eleven years I may finally run out of postsecondary education to complete and actually have to move on to real life. I think I'm okay with that.



* In the center, about a quarter of the way up from the bottom in case you were wondering. Look for the pink hood. But you're on your own for finding that styrofoam cup.