[Alex Finkelstein is one of the six honor graduates in the Goshen Central High School Class of 2009. The following is the text of the commencement address he delivered on June 26, 2009.]
What does the diploma you're about to receive mean to you? We can think about the diploma as an invitation of sorts – an invitation to a sumptuous buffet, offering a seemingly infinite range of dining choices. Many options will be delicious, yet unhealthy. Others will be nutritious, yet bland. A few will be both delicious and nutritious. Some will turn out to be neither.
One thing we know right now: The buffet that awaits us bears little resemblance to what we have experienced the past four years... at least from our high school cafeteria. For while we will find all the old stand-bys – cheeseburgers, fries, hot dogs, pizzas –when we leave here today, we will also encounter foods we've never seen even seen or heard of before. The world is our oyster! But what if we actually don't like seafood? Well then, perhaps it's a gourmet wrap, just waiting to be...un-wrapped.
Without salivating too much on the microphone, my suggestion is that this is an ideal time to bypass the standard fare on which we were raised and try something new. Experiment! Reach for the exotic! We need to leave our comfort zone! Take that exciting college course that has absolutely nothing to do with our intended major. Apply for that enticing job that falls outside our area of expertise. If we discover along the way that we can’t swallow these new entrees, no problem: The “classics” will always be there, waiting for us to fall back on. Or just maybe, we may actually find out we like escargot. Be courageous and try something new and unique-- more often than not, the rewards will outweigh the risks.
There is such a wide array of delectable offerings in the grand buffet that is life that it pays to fill our plate to the edges, trying a little nosh of everything before ruling anything out. Whatever we do, we cannot let our hunger get the better of us: Before the meal even starts is not the time to fill-up on bread! Save room. We can’t rush to devour the very first things we see. Whether it is in making a career choice, deciding where to live, or even whom we form relationships with - we may ultimately find good things come to those who wait.
And with that, I wish us all the very best of luck – as the great Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”