Bear with me for a moment while I embarrass my son, Joel, who is graduating here tonight. Joel, you’ve worked hard to get here and today marks a great milestone in your life. I’m very proud of you. Your dad and your sisters, your grandparents, and all your friends are proud of you too and we’re all happy to be with you to share this occasion.

Before I start talking directly to the graduates, a word to the parents and loved ones of the graduates—are you as relieved as I am? Whew! This is a happy day and hopefully the first of many happy days as the children we have so carefully raised from infancy go out into the world—get jobs, go to college, get married, and raise their own children. I can hardly wait until their children are in high school. It will be a lost easier as a grandmother. Joel’s grandmother, who is here today, is nodding her head.

To the graduates: Congratulations.

What a great day. High school is behind you. You did it and you deserve to be proud and happy and celebrate your accomplishment.

You’ve finally completed high school algebra, geometry, calculus. You’re done with US history, English, science, and foreign languages. And now you’re ready to begin new challenges and experiences. Your adult life literally commences today.

Welcome to the world. We need you. The world needs you—desperately. We need your creativity, your enthusiasm, your energy, and your fresh ideas. You must begin to prepare yourselves to take on the challenges that this world presents to you. I serve in the State Assembly; I know a little about those challenges. And when I’m done, it’s all yours.

Soon you will be starting a new life armed only with what you have learned so far. You will have to make decisions, solve problems, and do things as an adult. I would like to give you a few words of advice; some things that I wish someone had told me when I graduated from high school. These are Mom’s rules to live by and even though you’ve probably heard them a million times, perhaps this evening they will take on new meaning.

Rule no. 1: Be good. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “whatever you are, be a good one.” You may not know where you go from here, or perhaps you have your life all planned out. It doesn’t matter so much what you choose to do as how you do it. What matters is that you love what you do and you give it your very best. That’s the most anyone can ever ask of you.

Rule no. 2: Be on time. Woody Allen says that 90% of success is just showing up, which makes sense because if you don’t show up, you have no chance of success. In other words, give yourself a chance to succeed.

Rule no. 3: Risk failure. You can succeed only by being willing to fail. If you aren’t willing to risk failure, that means you aren’t willing to try at all. Obstacles are those things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. If you never take your eyes off your goal, you won’t let the obstacles stop you.

Rule no. 4: Be nice. How many times have you heard your parents say that to you when you were fighting with your sister or brother? Remember that you can often do the greatest good by doing the smallest favor for the most humble person. It’s the small things in life that really make a difference for most of us. Don’t look down on anyone unless you’re helping them up.

Rule no. 5: Pick up your own mess. Leave the world a little better than you found it, even in some small way. Most of us can’t change the world, but we can improve our own little corner of the world. And that’s your job, starting today—to make this world and your corner of it, a better place.

And my final words of wisdom: Eat your vegetables, don’t stay out too late and, as time goes on and you get busy with college or a job and a new social life, don’t forget to call home!

Congratulations Class of 2005 and best of luck in all you do.