por Joana

“I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity, is daring to dare.” — Maya Angelou

"To soar toward what's possible, you must leave behind what's comfortable." — Cicely Tyson

“If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong

In 2014 beats by Dre ran a commercial for the FIFA World Cup. The throughline is a conversation in Portuguese between the Brazilian footballer Neymar and his father.  After asking if his son is alright, his father says something that has stuck with me since. He tells his son to run.

“Run like it is the last day of your life.

Run Like a crazy man chasing happiness.

Run for your family and your friends.”

He encouraged his son to be happy.  The commercial closes with him saying,

“But there is one more thing, it’s important, that you don’t hold back.” 

I was ready to get out on the pitch with my then 30-something knees and give it my all, and I don’t speak a word of Portuguese, or own beats headphones for that matter. Right now, as you prepare to leave this place that has been your home for the last few (or more than a few) years of your life, for good or for ill, whether you feel it or not, whether you wish you could stay, can’t wait to leave, or a bit of both, that is my wish for you.  Not to run FROM here.  Instead, I wish for you to run TO the life that awaits you.  With all its fits and starts, twists and turns, ups and downs, it is still the beautiful game and every day that you draw breath you get to play again, maybe even a little bit better than the day before. 

 "Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise." – Anonymous

“Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.” — Denzel Washington

 “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” — Oprah Winfrey

The challenge, as in most things, is that it isn’t that simple, and it isn’t that easy.  It can be risky, if not scary, to go out into the wide world.  There’s good news, every single one of you is already intimately familiar with risk.  For many of you, your mere presence at this time, in this space, as you are, is risky.  The decision to leave where you were was risky.  And yet, here you are.  You have worked hard and demonstrated a lot of grit to get to this point, to accomplish this goal, to achieve this dream.  Whether this is the first degree in the history of your family, or you come from a legacy of graduates going back generations, you should be proud of yourselves.  I certainly am proud of you.  Think for a second about everything that had to break just right for you to be here, for you to be you.  The genetic combinations and permutations of all your ancestry alone are staggering.  Add on top of those all the hardships your forebears had to overcome and the risks that they had to take, and the odds just get compounded.  And yet, here you are, gloriously gifted, undeniably unique, perfectly imperfect, you.  Sit in that joy for a moment.  Look around and see who’s with you.  Look back and see who helped you get here.  Thank them all, big and small.  That grateful spirit will take you far.  As you look ahead, if you can see the path laid out in 8K, you’re on your way, I wish you Godspeed on your journey.  If the picture is not so clear, or hazy, or just empty, that is ok too.  Yes, you’re the oldest that you’ve ever been, but you have time.  Try some things, take some swings.  Use your resources (information and people) to help clarify a vision for your life for now that you can work on while you bring the vision for next into focus.  Here’s a practical tool.  Find your personal Mount Rushmore of people who are out there doing what you think you may want to do at the level you think you’ll want to be doing it in 30 years.  Backwards map their career paths and find the common elements.  There you will find the directions for your own trajectory. If the vision changes, the people change, but the process doesn’t.  You don’t have to do exactly what they did, but it is always easier to get somewhere when you have a roadmap.

 “A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.” — Dr. Grace Hopper

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.” – Kurt Vonnegut

“Courageous risks are life-giving, they help you grow, make you brave, and better than you think you are.” – Dr. Joan L. Curcio

One last thing to remember.  As much as this celebration of accomplishment is because of you, this is not only about you.  This is also about the payoff for the sacrifices made, seen and unseen, by those for whom the reward is to see you walk across that stage and take the next steps to a future beyond their imagining.  This is also about the people that you will impact with the ways that you deploy your time, talent, and treasure.  This is also about the lives you will change by being an exemplar for what is possible to someone who never even dreamt of someone who looks like you, doing what you do.  You carry within you the potency of possibility.  Whether you can see it or not, whether you want it or not, it is there, and you get to decide what to do with what you’ve been endowed with. You get to decide what you enable.  You get to decide who you empower.  There’s pressure in that, but pressure makes diamonds, and I can already see you shining. 

“Hold your principles tighter than any title or any job… In order to empower others, sometimes you have to risk something.” – Dr. Hank Frierson as told by Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby

“The opposite of success is not failure…it’s being stuck. You have a unique gift that’s meant to be shared. When fully aligned with this everlasting gift, an unshakable confidence becomes real!” – Jennifer Villarreal

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.” – Neil Gaiman

Now go be GREAT!

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." – Anais Nin

Any views or opinions expressed in this missive are solely the author’s and do not represent that of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County or any programs, departments, or partners affiliated with UMBC. While I make every effort to ensure that the information I am sharing is accurate, I welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.