Dispatch from Coronaville: Live It Well

Yesterday we finally had the graduation ceremony for my 8th grade class. We had delayed in what turned out to be the vain hope that the pandemic would have receded by this time and they could have a traditional in person graduation.  Well, we ended up having a shorter in person graduation ceremony though it was anything but traditional, as well as a virtual "Zoom Reception." It was beautiful, unique, and heartfelt just like this class. The day was clear and free of rain (though hot, and we did have one graduate who was overcome by the heat and ended up missing most of the ceremony. Thankfully she recovered by the end of the program after hydrating, resting, and cooling off inside.) For today's post, I've shared the text of the commencement address delivered by yours truly. I'm so honored that my students picked me to be their speaker.  After the speech and pics, will be the usual coronavirus update. This is what I had to say:

My heart is full this afternoon. I had the hardest time thinking of what to say. And it’s because there is so much I want to say that I didn’t know where to start. I love you all so much. I am so incredibly proud of each of you. I feel so blessed to have  had the privilege of being your teacher for the past four years. But don’t worry, it’s hot and so I will keep this short, but I hope sweet. 

Why did this happen to us? I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t think there is one. Some of have said that this happened to you because your class was uniquely equipped to handle it. But I don’t think God orchestrated all of this to line up with your 8th grade year just because you could handle it. I believe that life happens.  Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes its truly horrible. Sometimes its amazing. What I’m grateful for, is not that this happened to you but that you were able, by the grace of God, to bear it.

Normally, during these kinds of speeches the speaker tries to give you some advice, some words of wisdom as you begin the next chapter in your lives. But today, I don’t have any advice for you other than this: Keep doing what you are doing. You as a class and as an individuals have inspired me and touched me in so many ways. You--all of you--are my heroes, my inspirations. You have helped me this year to be a better person and I thank you.  So my only advice to you is to keep doing what you are doing. I want to draw your attention to five things in particular that you have done well, and that I want to encourage you to keep doing.

Your class has set high goals and accomplished them. You did things no other class has done, set higher goals and reached them. You raised more money than any class ever has--over $10,000 and counting for your Hawaii trip which we still have yet to take. You committed to turning your behavior around and accomplished that. You understood that with God all things are possible. Keep doing that. Keep striving, keep believing, keep grinding, keep getting it done. I want to highlight three students, though there are many others among you who exemplify this commitment to excellence. Philip--you set a goal and were unrelenting in your focus to achieve that goal and you did it. Keep that work ethic. Piya keep your commitment to excellence, putting quality into everything you do. And Bernard--keep growing, keep wanting to be better. That desire to improve, if you let it, can translate in to the realization of your dreams.

Your class has shown a commitment to growth and change. Keep growing, keep changing, keep learning, keep listening. Djibril keep learning to take personal responsibility, Stephen your growth in your short time at CAA has amazed me, keep expressing yourself beautifully,  Larrysa your inner soulfulness, appreciation and kindness has touched my heart. Keep that spirit, Larrysa.  Soulemane keep your commitment to growth and maturity, and the respectful way in which you have interacted with me, keep that as you go forward. Moise, you remind me of Peter, loud and brash, getting himself in trouble, yet growing powerful and deep as you let Jesus transform you. Keep being the academic powerhouse you are becoming, keep that focus on excellence. Nasha keep being so reliable and responsible. I really enjoyed working with you in the sound booth and I’m not sure what we’ll do without you. Keep being that person people know they can count on.  Dayshaun, keep listening and learning. You have a brilliant mind, keep applying it to live up to the dreams God has for you. Robert  keep getting back up again, you’ll find it easier each time. I appreciate your humble spirit.  Ronald, you’ve run 6.1 miles, so you know what it is to run. Keep running, digging deep when the going gets hard.

Your class really stands out because you have learned the art of appreciating the moment you are in. Every 8th grade class I’ve had can’t wait to get out of here, and it’s only after they leave that they come to appreciate this place. Your class loved this school and the experience of being here like few I’ve ever seen. And you are better for it. You appreciate the moment God has given you. Keep doing that. Two students come to mind that exemplify this. Alyssa, our class president. Alyssa keep your quiet, charismatic leadership, your patience, and the love you so clearly have for your classmates. Kevin, your deep appreciation for your classmates and your love for them, and not just them but for your teachers as well is truly beautiful. Keep that spirit, Kevin.

Your class treats each other as family. You are forgiving, patient. There is a significant absence of drama--which wasn’t always the case--that is very unusual for this age. You’ve had relationships begin and end, you’ve had heated basketball arguments, you’ve had people who seem to specialize in pulling people’s chains, yet none of this seems to have broken your class apart. You moved past that. What a gift to have and share with the world. Keep doing that. Here I want to acknowledge some of our joy-bringers, our messengers of good cheer and grace.  Georgia, keep your cheerful and patient spirit. Jasen keep your sense of humor, your mind sharp and insightful.  Daysha,keep your kind spirit and your willingness to offer a hug (when the pandemic is over of course). Athena -your kindness, especially to my children, your support for the marginalized, your tender heart are so beautiful. Not everyone will see you, but I want you to know that I do, and I always will. Tiffany-Keep reading, keep thinking, keep that open mind, sense of humor, and gentle spirit.

Your class, perhaps more than any class I’ve ever taught, pray and praise easily. You are spiritually minded. Keep doing that. Yasmin, what a joy it’s been to see you grow, going all the way back to latchkey until today. Keep trusting in God, keep praying. Hadson, you have been a spiritual leader this year. Keep that spiritual focus, keeping trusting that God will provide whatever you need. Look how far he has taken you. Chelsea, keep paying attention to what’s going on in the world. During our Hangout chats I could always count on you to point out to the class things happening in the news that affect us all. Keep your eyes open and keep calling others to do the same. Greer keep leading people in praise of God, even if it’s just you at first, others will join.

It would be nice to say that your life is going to be wonderful and that everything is going to turn out great. But I can’t promise that. You will experience great joy and incredible success. But you will also experience heartbreaking grief and devastating failure. I want to encourage you to be like Job in those moments, to keep doing what you have always done: Blessing the name of the Lord and loving others. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

There’s a song I love called “Live It Well.”  This is what part of the lyrics say: 

 I got one life and one love

I got one voice, but maybe that's enough

Cause with one heartbeat and two hands to give

I got one shot and one life to live

One life to live, yeah

And every breath you take is a miracle

Life is short; I wanna live it well

One life, one story to tell (one love)

Life is short; I wanna live it well

And you're the one I'm living for (the one, yeah)

Awaken all my soul

Every breath that you take is a miracle

Life is short; I wanna live it well

                                            (--Switchfoot, "Live It Well")

Life is short. Live it well. Live it for Jesus. Live it for others. And no matter what, keep doing what you’re doing. Keep striving, keep growing, keep appreciating, keep loving, and keep trusting God. He will see you through. I love you all so much. Congratulations and thank you.

And now for the Dispatch. . .

In 2006 I went to my first U2 concert in Tokyo, Japan. I've been to ten since (ten! I know, I'm a big fan), but that first one is still probably my favorite. The couple days of sightseeing and the incredible performance were all indelible. After the show I had a tough decision to make. I had just enough money to get my train ticket back to the airport in Narita to catch my flight home to Saipan. But I also wanted to buy a souvenir of my concert and they only accepted cash. I had found it very difficult to use my credit card while in Japan because few place accepted credit. If I bought a souvenir I couldn't be sure I'd be able to get back to Narita, if I couldn't purchase my ticket with a credit card. If I couldn't get back to Narita I would miss my flight and would be stranded in Japan with no money, knowing no one and with no place to stay. I'd be on the streets.

I decided to buy the souvenir.

I remember thinking, this is one of those things that if it works out, I'll be glad I did it and if it doesn't work out it will be the worst decision of my life.

As you've probably guessed, it worked out. I was able to purchase my train ticket with the credit card and I went home with happy memories and a nice souvenir (My only regret is that I got the wrong souvenir. I should have bought the t-shirt instead of the DVD, which I've watched once and could have bought easily on Amazon or E-bay. I can't believe I took a risk like that for a DVD. The t-shirt would have been worth it, because I love my concert t-shirts and now buy one at every concert I go to. Life Lesson: Buy the t-shirt, not the DVD).

Either something I'm glad I did, or the worst decision of my life, depending on the outcome. That's kind of how I feel about this graduation. In one sense, I"m so glad we had it. It was such a beautiful day and I'm so glad I could give this gift to my students who I love so much and who have lost so much of their final year at CAA to this pandemic. I just don't want them to lose anymore. And yesterday was probably the biggest risk I've taken since the coronavirus struck, with the kids not being near as careful with the mask wearing and social distancing as I would have liked. Right now, I'm just hoping the credit card works.

Total cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of yesterday (recorded the data last night after graduation but too exhausted to post) were 4,243,643, with a 194,906 new cases in the past three days, about 20,000 fewer than I predicted. We are down in new cases from the previous three day period but I think it may be a little too soon to declare the peak has passed. It may be that the peak was on July 17 when we had over 223,000 new cases in three days but we'll need a few more rounds to confirm a pattern of decrease. In my weariness last night I forget to record the national death count, so the total deaths are from today: 146,754 total deaths, of which 2,505 are new over the past four days (I'm not sure how many deaths were reported in past 12 hours or so). This also represents a decrease in the number of new deaths in a three day period, and is 1000 fewer than I predicted. Based on a continuation of this pattern, I would expect 4,447,338 total cases by Wednesday, July 29 and 149,249 total deaths.

Florida, oh, Florida when will you ever return to join us down in the visible panels of my graphs? The pattern of new cases for the state has been (in thousands), 37 on July 14, 35 on July 17, 33 on July 20, 29 on July 23 and now back up to 33,987 new cases as of yesterday, July 26. As always, it takes several cycles for the pattern to reveal itself, and my graphs tell the story best in hindsight. Ohio, on the other hand does appear to have peaked back on July 14. We may be on the downhill side now. Meanwhile, Cornhuskers beware: Nebraska shows signs of a gradual increase.

Total Cases

Florida: 423,847 total cases, 1.9% of the population. It's quite remarkable to me that Florida accounts for about 10% of the U.S. total case count and has had more COVID cases than most countries in the world. Dark times for the Sunshine State indeed.

Ohio: 84,073 total cases, 0.72% of the population.

Nebraska: 24,618 total cases, 1.3% of the population

While deaths are down during this three-day period in Florida, I think they are still in the midst of a significant spike in deaths. I would expect to see a new record in new deaths established by Wednesday there. Ohio seems to be stabilizing in terms of new deaths and at least so far it doesn't look like we'll return to the heights of the spring. The deaths really tell the story of a very different reality in Florida and Ohio in terms of what's happening with the virus. While Florida's new death peak is definitely in the summer, Ohio's appears to be firmly in the past. Nebraska needs to stay alert. If anything there appears to be gradual increase in the deaths over the past few weeks. While the state has yet to reach it's spring peak, it does seem to be moving in that direction.

Total Deaths

Florida: 5,853, a rate of 1.4%

Ohio: 3,307, a rate of 3.9%. Ohio's death rate is clearly declining as deaths remain low even as case counts increase.

Nebraska: 322, a rate of 1.3%