Graduates and Explorers of the World in New Zealand

Last week I sat in an auditorium in anticipation of my daughter, Miss Christine. receiving her diploma from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was one of those moments you can not imagine when your child is a toddler learning their ABC's and scooping sand out of the sandbox, it seemed a life time away and then, all of a sudden..your child is standing on stage receiving a University degree.  It was one of those moments a parent beams with pride…sandbox memories a cherished memory.

While preparing for our trip to New Zealand, I read through notable and inspirational commencement speeches (as you do). The ones that stir the imagination and motivate graduates. One in particular stood out for me. It was presented by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, in a speech he gave at Princeton University in 2010. He presented the graduates with questions …simple yet thought provoking ones. He suggested the graduates build themselves a great story and take time to think about the choices they make.

Christine, Graduation Day

"Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life--the life you author from scratch on your own..begins.

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?
Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?
Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologise?
Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?
Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?
I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story."


It's true isn't it? Whether 80 years old or 20 years old, we never stop writing our story, it's our story, past, present and future. We make choices, some wise..some not so wise. We do crazy things, fun things, we cry, we laugh…we live. Above all we learn…we never stop learning. I am just excited about life at 56 as I was at 21. I pray that never changes. ;)

At the end of each year I ponder the choices I have made and think on what lies ahead of me. I am not one for declared New Year's resolutions…I tend to keep them quiet and make a deal with myself. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but either way, I look to a new year with hope and promise.

With that, I wish for you….a year filled with all of your desires and if not all…the best one of them all.

Write yourself a great year…be an explorer of the world and above all, have fun!

I look forward to sharing it with you… ;)

How to be an Explorer of the World

Happy New Year!! 

Jeanne xxx