Texas Tech University: A Conceptual Analysis

Few events in the state of Texas are as prestigious as the annual Texas Tech University Commencement. Last December, I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the speakers for at the Bachelor’s ceremony. Knowing that on that day, I would be looked upon by hundreds of young and hard-working students, I pondered what message I would give them. What could inspire these young-adults, these graduates, who are brimming with the potential to change, innovate, and shape our world? The answer, it seemed was present in the question. I wanted nothing more than to inspire them to make a difference. I would tell them what they should strive for in order to be a source for change. Wealth, materials, and trophies all fade over time. Symbols, however, can permeate out thoughts and ideas and can truly exemplify parts of our own being. This was what I would give the students; symbols that hold meaning. Symbols that they could look back on to remember what they should keep at the core of their consciousness when living their lives and embodying inventors and thinkers.
The first item each student would receive would be a marble.
Each marble distributed would be unique, as the first facet of making a difference requires. They must be different. In order to leave a lasting impression, we must strive to be abnormal. Being weird is a good thing. People notice that which is strange or out of the ordinary. Our abnormalities can allow us to thrive socially and mentally if we build upon them. Society is plagued with messages of conformity. We are constantly told who we should be. The truth is, everyone is unique. However, that uniqueness fades if we conform. We must structure our lives around our uniqueness, and use it to our advantage when we can. We must live as individuals and embrace our differences. Being weird can give one a true sense of freedom, as it gives one the strength to reject the urge to conform if we embrace it. I decided that the next object that the graduates would be greeted with would be a model of a cave. This model would be open to represent venturing into the unknown. In order to make a difference, we must act different. It is important to experiment, to do what others won’t. We can never truly change the world if we are too afraid to take risks, whether that risk is investment of time, or a daring leap of faith into an unknown
environment. Finally, the last gift that I had prepared for each of the students was a purple light bulb. The rarity of such an object testifies to what it represents – we must think different. We should constantly look at problems from new angles and experiment with unconventional ideas. When given a problem, one should evaluate the borders within which the average person would attempt to solve it and breach them. Many of the great minds of history did just that. Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of physics by approaching light in a way that no one had done before. Nikola Tesla implemented his radical ideas on energy to bring us the Tesla coil and the fluorescent light bulb. I hoped that my words and my gifts rang true for the students. I hoped that they would now be inspired to change the world for the better. And I hoped that they would be different, act different, and think different on their path to make a difference.