The Class of 2002

I grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska and some of my best memories are of the days I taught high school English. I think some adults don’t quite know how to be with teenagers, but I say bring it on.

The 2002 graduating class of West Valley High School gave me the honor of a lifetime by selecting me as a teacher of excellence and asking me to give the faculty commencement address.

I created five “bumper stickers” to shape my speech, and a couple of years ago I designed a t-shirt (in photo above) that included those guiding principles and offered those shirts as gifts to my former students, many of whom were turning 40 years old. I wanted them to know that they still meant the world to me.

Along with my offer of the t-shirts I wrote them this message:

“You may sometimes think that this whacko planet of ours is too tangled and that your voice and values don’t count. Throw that notion out the window. Every small act of kindness—to others and to yourself—is what the world hungers for, now more than ever.

I believe in each and every one of you, and even though we’re not together in the classroom anymore, all I have to do is close my eyes and there we are.”

The t-shirts we’ll hand out during the Kindness Walk are simpler offspring from the shirt I designed for my students. But the foundational message remains exactly the same and we will be delighted to see a sea of Be Kind, Do Good t-shirts worn by people of all ages walking alongside us and sharing their stories.

I have learned so much from the students in my classrooms, and I am forever grateful for how they have helped shape my life. How good it would be if a few of them surprised me and showed up on this walk? I’ll bet that some of them have gray hair.