“Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians … 37,000 class presidents … 92,000 harmonizing altos … 340,000 swaggering jocks … 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. Even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. You’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped … feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. … We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life is an achievement. to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special. Because everyone is.”
| — | David McCullough Jr, a Boston-area high school teacher, addressing a crowd of graduating seniors this week in a “you’re not special” themed graduation speech |