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2008 Spade Ritual Speech

Jooyeon Hamh's

I have struggled hard to produce a fine speech. These are my last official words at NMH and I wanted to say something grandiose, creative, and unforgettable. However, I decided to be frank and honest today.

I was a typical over-achiever, obsessed with grades, awards, and recognitions. I wasn’t cool, partly because I was too nerdy and partly because I didn’t know to enjoy my work. I complained a lot about the length of work job and the amount of homework even though I always finished them.

I always worked to get something. To get an A, to get an award, and to get recognition. When I didn’t get them, I was crushed. When I did get them, I still felt so-so because my happiness was short-lived.

I remember when I checked my college result online. I saw “congratulations” on the first line, and screamed for about five seconds. Ah!!! That was it. And then, I got back to my normal life. I didn’t feel anything. I was like a computer game addict. One mission completed, what’s next? One stage conquered, and then, what’s up?

Then, in my senior spring, I experienced a major depression. Why? Because I had nothing to do. My game was done. All of sudden, I was afraid, I asked myself a question, “Am I going to repeat this cycle for ever? After graduating college, I should apply for decent graduate school, then find a nice, high-paying job, get promotions. Oh, meanwhile, I will get married and bring up a family. I should earn enough money to send my kids to NMH. Then, I will become old and die…” Oh, I’m sorry! This is not relevant for high school seniors.

Very recently, I found a reason behind my constant unhappiness, this perpetual void. I raced towards success while not appreciating the journey I took. I dashed forward without looking around at the beautiful scenery that I passed by. The more checkpoints I went through, the more I became isolated…

The moment of achievement is short. The process of achievement is long. If you want to feel happy for a longer time period, you need to learn to enjoy the process. Life is about big accomplishments but what makes you smile may be small things like enjoying a joke in class, matching your thesis and conclusion on your paper, constructing an organized bibliography with help of little brown handbook, sharing a win on the field with teammates, taking a short break during four hours of work job, and so on.

Class of 2008,

This commencement is not the end; it’s our new start! Wherever you are, my fellow classmates, whatever you do, I hope that you will enjoy your life, that you will be grateful for what you have, and that you will be able to rejoice in your accomplishments whole-heartedly.

Class of 2009 and the rest of NMH community

Here is the true challenge of the spade: Enjoy your work!