A mentor once told me that there are times in our lives when we are the arrow, flying swift and far. As we get older, we鈥檙e more often the bow, holding steady and helping to launch others further than we can see or imagine.Our parents and families are often our first bow, and perhaps they struggle most with letting us fly far. Then it鈥檚 our teachers and mentors who help us focus and take aim.
Frequently, when we鈥檙e aiming for a new destination, we forget who helped us soar, and we may not appreciate that they鈥檒l never see what we get to see. Graduations are an opportunity to think about how and where we鈥檝e landed, and who gave us flight.
Sometimes, we feel regret or mixed feelings about the bows in our lives 鈥� especially if we鈥檝e traveled far to strike out on our own. We may have had to fight for our chosen path, and feel a sense of independent achievement. But it鈥檚 worth remembering that often the greater the tension, the further the flight. And at some point in life, we may experience gratitude even for that tension.
This year, fifteen years after I began my own journey at the University of Vermont, I鈥檒l have the honor of addressing the 2019 graduates of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
As I walk my dog around campus or after I speak in a class, students sometimes come up to me to say they first saw me speak in a large first-year lecture, that they鈥檙e excited I鈥檒l be helping to send them off at their graduation.
And it鈥檚 with a profound sense of awe that I realize I鈥檝e become a bit of a fixture in their lives. I never imagined I鈥檇 have that level of permanence in a place.
As I prepare to help launch our graduates further and higher than ever, I think of all the bows that helped my arrow fly.
I feel them with me still, holding me steady - with just the right amount of tension.
