Tis the season for commencement speeches! High schools, colleges, and universities all proudly march their current graduates into auditoriums, football fields, and stadiums for that last pomp and circumstance of their proud school traditions. Here the graduates, along with their proud families and revered friends get to listen to esteemed counsel and advice at this precipice, the beginning of the rest of their lives.
The speakers consist of people of different ages and situations, some older, some younger, some established members of the community, some are just graduating themselves. Some speeches are given by well-known celebrities and other professions.
We don't remember most of these speeches. In the moment, they provide moments of warmth and pride and reflection. But eventually the moment and the feelings fade.
But some of these commencement speeches touch listeners' hearts so profoundly that they want to share with others. Sometimes a speech goes, in today' culture, viral.
I would like to share part of a commencement speech of a man who started his schooling at a community college and went on to give the commencement speech at a university. He had many adversities and struggles, many of them self-inflicted.
I found this speech on a news site. Here is the excerpt:
"My life mostly consisted of chasing whatever numbed me the fastest. I drank heavily, I used drugs, I neglected my relationships and my family, and I paid no attention to the warning signs that were everywhere in my life. Eventually, everything collapsed. I lost my job, my marriage ended, I had no stability, and I spent years in addiction, homelessness, repeatedly going to jail, and in a state of mind I can only describe as simply existing."
Then, while sitting in a jail cell, he discovered he was going to be a father. It was a moment that changed everything for him.
"Having my son meant that I now have someone that depends on me. Someone that looks up to me. And I needed him to see what hard work, discipline and responsibility look like. And that led me back to school."
So, he returned to a community college with a 1.67 GPA and an academic probation contract — something that he said: "measured how lost I had been."
But he put his head down, got to work, and went on to earn two associate's degrees — one in psychology and one with honors in social work — before transferring to the university. His next goal is law school, where he hopes to advocate for smarter policies on criminal justice reform.
"I'm telling you my story to show you that life does not move in straight lines. Life is messy. There are going to be times when you wonder if you're on the right path, where the effort might not seem worth it, where quitting feels like it's the only option left. I know those feelings well, and not only is it okay, it's human. If you ever find yourself in a time where everything feels hopeless, just remember, keep showing up, because no matter how impossible things feel, the lowest point in your life might be the moment your real story begins."
I am sharing this because every sentence in the last paragraph also applies to us. Those of us wrestling with UC and Crohn's.
Life is messy. Even if we're a neat freak (guilty), our lives can suddenly be dumped on by a mess or simply slide slowly into it and there's nothing we can do about it.
When we first start experiencing symptoms, suddenly the familiar path we've been traveling becomes unrecognizable and difficult to traverse. We go from knowing where we are going to not knowing anything about the path ahead.
The speaker says, "the effort might not seem worth it, where quitting feels like it's the only option left." I have never felt that way with my UC, but I have felt that way about other things in my far distant past. It's nice that the speaker reminds us that these feelings are human. But then he goes on to remind us to keep showing up (when we can) and that even when we're at our lowest, it could be a beginning.
As always, being in a flare is a whole different matter. It is easy to think then, "I can't do this anymore." When that happens, odds are we have tried several medications that turned out not to work and are continuing to search for the one that will. As that takes time, it can be very discouraging.
But the speaker says, where everything feels hopeless, keep showing up and know that a beginning is coming.
Life is messy. It is also full of beginnings, becomings, and more beginnings. Where we are today is not where we will always be. Let's keep showing up!
© Colitis Senioritis 2026
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