STUDENT STORIES
Live Unexpectedly
Commencement Talk by Eden Lawson ’24, B.A., Communication Studies
WELL, CLASS OF 2024, I think we can all agree that the past four years were not what we expected. We met each other from the eyes up, ate our first DC meals under tents, gathered in outdoor classes and met our fiancées in Zoom breakout rooms. Oh was that just me? But seriously, things were different, and for most of us, this is our first real graduation. It feels like it has been eight years coming. Our college years were a unique timeline of unexpected moments. While difficult, it has made being here with you all unexpectedly beautiful.
Our class verse comes from Zechariah 4:6, “Not by power nor by might but through my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” My favorite part about our verse is that it turns our assumptions about God upside down. God is saying, “Yes, I am strong, but that’s not all I am.” An entire people thought God would come down as a great military leader. Instead, Jesus surprised all of us with his questions, his humility and his tendency toward unexpectedness.
I spent most of my life believing that the best will come from planning ahead and having it all together. But surprisingly, the most authentic moments came from unforeseen experiences or conversations. The unexpected stories of close friends changed my life as did the unexpected doubt that comes with faith and the unexpected outcomes of saying “yes” to curiosity. We’ll face many expectations in the future, and I believe we have a choice. We can live in a world of hurry, corner offices and the lie that we’re enough once our job tells us we’re enough. Or we can rest in the truth that no matter where each of us finds a place in this world, if we live unexpectedly, that will be just enough.
“The most authentic moments came from unforeseen experiences or conversations.”
This year, 2024, is going to be interesting. We’re launching into a culture asking “Who can shout louder?” I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to whisper. We learned countless perspectives and frameworks to approach the world, but I think the most important thing we learned is that nothing suffices for having conversations with those who are different than us. Live unexpectedly. We’ll be asked if we lean this way or that way. But there is always a third way. Jesus loved choosing the third way. Live unexpectedly. We’ll be told to choose black or white. Why not sit in the grey? Some of the best glimpses of paradise happen in the grey. Live unexpectedly.
Four years ago, my high school reached out to me asking if I’d be willing to speak at graduation. And then COVID happened. Shortly after, my family found out that my grandmother had entered end-of-life care for leukemia, so we went to Arkansas to stay with her. It seemed to be a painful way to end senior year. And then something unexpected happened. Not only did I learn I could film my graduation speech, but I shared my speech in my grandmother’s living room, uttering words that she could hear in person. It was one of the largest blessings I could have asked for before she passed. Life is going to be unexpected, but that doesn’t mean it will lack meaning. Wherever we end up, whatever job we take, graduate school we attend, or adventure we embark on, life will always be purposeful and significant if we allow for the unexpected and live unexpectedly.