Today, I will be the first person in my entire family to
have ever attained a college degree.
This extends beyond my parents, and includes aunts, uncles,
grandparents, and anyone else with even remotely similar genes. While today the eyes will lie on me, it
belongs to those whom have sacrificed so much to have even made this
opportunity fathomable. Today belongs to
the ancestors that gave up everything they knew to venture to a new land,
seeking opportunity. It belongs to my
caring grandparents, those both dead and alive, who turned this opportunity
into excellence. And most of all, it
belongs to my parents, the tireless protectors that have given me every
emotional and physical need I could have ever dreamed of. So while in an hour or so, “James Robert
Lago” will be projected from the speakers, the credit belongs to those who go
unannounced.
90% of where I am today is because of someone else. I cannot help but feel selfish to be the sole
receiver of credit, when in fact I don’t deserve even a sliver of that which
has been given to me. I didn’t choose to
enroll in a top-notch school system on my own accord. I certainly did not come into this world with
the belief that compassion trumps ignorance, or that learning is never
complete. My parents have gone above and
beyond the standard requirements in raising a child, and have told me time and
time again how proud they are. I
couldn’t have asked for a more caring and devoted set of role models, and I’m
not sure that anyone in this entire world will ever be as lucky as I have been
in that regard.
They cheered and supported me through countless football
practices, school concerts, sick days, days of sorrow, and days of hope. They smiled with me after victory, and taught
me to be resilient through moments of failure.
They reminded me that there is always tomorrow to achieve that which
could not be had today. They each worked
two or three jobs to make my life enjoyable, and contrary to what they may
believe, I saw the insurmountable obstacles they battled. The overwhelming majority of the lessons they
taught me were through action, not spoken word.
Life was not always kind to their ambitions, but when hardship arose,
they buckled down and charged forward.
It’s hard to imagine that in addition to the investment they put into
myself and my sister, there were additional external struggles they had to battle. The reason this is so hard to believe, is
because they did so flawlessly, without reluctance or complaint.
Four years ago, they stood with me as I received my first
college acceptance letter. Last year, they
saw me off to four months of unparalleled adventure and excitement in
Europe. Today, they live with me through
the proudest moment of my life. They’ve
collectively leapt across oceans and ran through fire to hand the torch to me
for an easy stroll to the finish line.
While I may be the one to cross the line, the difficulty of my run is
nothing in relation to the progress achieved in theirs. Congratulations Mom and Dad. You did it.
