One last library lesson before you go, woven with love
U-32 2021 Commencement Address
June 18, 2021
Delivered by Meg Boisseau Allison
Greetings parents, family, and friends — and congratulations to the radiant class of 2021. Thank you for giving me one of the greatest honors of my career to be your commencement speaker. I’m a flawed, profoundly imperfect, but humble and happy human being, and I am delighted, and only slightly terrified, to be speaking to you — my students — at your graduation. And I’m really, really happy that you all returned your overdue library books — otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here at all. Good job!
I have asked some of you what you wanted to hear from me. Avery told me to be inspiring, and Norah advised me to just be myself and speak from the heart. And at the end of the day? That’s really all I’ve got, my friends. My heart. And a library full of books that inspire us to grow into our better selves.
As many of you know, I started at U-32 the same year as you, in August 2015. We kinda showed up here together. Many of you know me as your librarian, some of you have known me as a coach, a few as a mentor, and a small, special group of you know me as your TA. But, way before all of this, I was a children’s librarian at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier. It wasn’t until our first Open House in the 7th grade that I realized that I knew many of you from my storytimes. But, it wasn’t because I recognized you. I recognized your parents. You had changed too much, at least on the outside. Your parents — like me — had just gotten a few more wrinkles and gray hairs. And suddenly, it all fell into place. I began to feel like I, too, belonged here. And that I belonged here alongside you.
These last 15 months have been tumultuous and unsettling, not just with the massive disruption from the pandemic, but also feeling that, as a people, we’ve become irreconcilably divided, that we can’t trust our leaders, that the injustices of oppression seem insurmountable, or that world leaders have forsaken Planet Earth for the good of the elite. So, I offer you an antidote and a tool you can use for wellness and for wisdom for the rest of your days: you can always travel back to children’s books. When you begin to lose your focus or sense of purpose, or playfulness, read — or listen — to a children’s book. It’s how you’ll tap into a bit of magic,too. There will always be Hogwarts, Narnia, and Middle Earth. And no matter how fantastical the story, you will always find a thread of your story in someone else’s story. When you find that connection, well, that becomes the basis of our common humanity. It’s really that simple. Our stories and our willingness to listen to each other’s stories is what matters, especially in a culture that is trying very hard to divide us and filter out others who aren’t like us or think like us.
There are three children’s books I will draw upon for this celebratory occasion. Think of this as your final library lesson. It was hard to choose only three. Some of you will commiserate with me — only three books? It’s like when you come into the library and ask me for a book recommendation, and 10 minutes later you are leaving with a stack! So, I promise you this, the terrific Class of 2021. Three lessons. Three children’s books. Then, off I’ll go, back into the stacks. And off you’ll go, out into the world.
Lesson #1 is from Harry Potter. Professor Dumbledore teaches us that “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
Standing up to your friends can be tough. We are friends with people because we share connections, experiences, laughs, and a special bond. We love our friends — that’s why we have them. So many of you have built such beautiful friendships with each other -from the Core 4 to The Boys, from friendships built as cast members and as teammates. The truth is, most of us go along with things just to get along and not cause conflict. Love makes us inclined to avoid any conflict and the truth of things about those we love can be very hard to face. We have a tendency to withdraw rather than challenge those close to us. However, Dumbledore knows that’s not always the best way to go about it. He is teaching us that our inner integrity is perhaps the most essential part of our core, and being honest with a friend takes a lot of courage. If we are to succeed at being the best versions of ourselves, we have to learn how to lean into conflict with those closest to us. And most especially when it means going against the status quo. Put your trust in Dumbledore’s wisdom. Help each other become accountable for the mistakes you’ve made. This is how we begin to heal and grow stronger, individually and collectively. Every single day, ask yourselves: What am I willing to stand up for?
Lesson #2 is coming to you from Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White. To jog your memory, it’s that story about the pig and the spider.
“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing…after all, what’s a life anyway? We are born, we live a little while, we die.”
What can we learn from Charlotte’s Web? From the very first line, we know that things aren’t looking good for poor ol’ Wilbur. He’s a pig, and well, that bacon in the cafeteria on Bacon Friday y’all love so much has to come from somewhere. Of course, Pa is going off to slaughter the runt of the litter, because, as the mother puts it, “he’s very small and weak, and will never amount to anything.”
Fern steps in to stop this action, declaring this the most terrible case of injustice. As children listening to this story, we feel not just Fern’s desperation to save him, but also Wilber’s despair. He just wants to live! An agreement is made for him to live on Zuckerman’s farm, but only temporarily, his butchering date simply being put off until he fattens up. Struggling with loneliness and rejection, he just wants love. He wants a friend, but none of the other barn animals are interested. Then, hanging just out of sight in the barn rafters, a common grey spider, offers to be his friend, and in doing so, saves Wilbur, not just from the axe, but from himself. She weaves proclamations about Wilber into her webs — Some pig! Terrific! Radiant! Humble! And before you know it, he becomes Zuckerman’s Famous Pig and his life is saved. And what did it take to change the course of his destiny? Charlotte sees him. He mattered to her. And then, he starts to believe it too. Yet, despite this tender friendship, in the end, Charlotte dies alone.
Brutal, right? But, it’s so honest. Charlotte’s Web is a story about the cycle of life, by dealing directly with the reality of death. And in telling this story, E.B.White imparts wisdom to us, about how to create a meaningful life. What it teaches us is existential and that deep down in the marrow of our bones, we know that we are born, that we get to live a little, and then when our time comes — far off in the future, we die. What Charlotte teaches us is that the true path to our purpose, and thus our happiness, is in helping others. And that the small act of showing someone that they matter can literally save a life. Just like you showed up for each other these past 15 months in such big and small ways. You reminded each other that you matter. Some of you are here because your friends saw you and reached out when you were in despair. You are here. Thank God, you are here.
The final lesson, #3, is from Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak.
“And now,’ cried Max, ‘let the wild rumpus start!’
Let the wild rumpus start indeed! You made it! You are graduating, my friends. Right here, right now. This June feels so much more liberating and hopeful than last year’s graduation, when we were in the great unknown with this pandemic, and things were projected to only get worse and there was no vaccine in sight. We were also experiencing a traumatic racial reckoning as a nation, with people taking to the streets by the millions to demand police accountability. Things seemed as if they would not hold, as a nation, as a community, within our own hearts.
And now? Vermont has achieved a feat no other state has done — more than 80% of us are vaccinated and everything is opening up. Just yesterday, a new federal holiday was signed into law, making Juneteenth a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery and making remembrance of our painful past a shared experience. There is, indeed, so much to celebrate and look forward to. Things that we might once have taken for granted we no longer do.
So, members of the humble Class of 2021, what Max teaches us is that there’s always a time in life to let loose. To go a little wild. And this is one of those times.
It is time to celebrate your accomplishments. Because after all of those late-night cramming sessions, after all those reperformances and drafts. After all of those Zoom classes and reflections, you have made it to the finish line. You did it and you have so much to celebrate and the wild rumpus will soon be underway.
But, before you start to party, do you remember how the book ends? Max has his bit of fun, and then he returns home. Why does Max return home? After all, he was pretty pissed at his mother and stomped off to his room in a huff, only to be transported to a magical place where he could make a wild rumpus without a care in the world. Why leave that place of freedom and frolic? Why be tied down to places where there are expectations and rules? I think it’s because after the rumpus was over, it was time to go home. At home, that’s where Max was loved, where his supper was waiting for him, and it was still warm.
We are part of the universe, my friends, a part of something bigger than all of this. Now is the time for you to create something new. Have thrilling adventures and explore new lands. Help others with less power than you along the way and make space at the table for everyone to join in the feast. Learn that conflict helps us grow, and when we lean into the discomfort of not knowing all the answers, we become wiser. From time to time, tap into that sense of childlike wonder that is within you — within each of us still — and take in the world not as bored tourists, but as wide-eyed wanderers.
Life is one heck of a wild and precious ride. And always remember, home is where the heart is, no matter how big and grown you get. So, please come back and visit every now and then. It’ll be no problem at all to warm up your supper.
So, until we meet again —
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you experience joy.
May you be free.
May you be loved.
From the bottom of our hearts, congratulations to you — the terrific, radiant, humble class of 2021. Let the wild rumpus begin!
