Good morning everyone.
Congratulations to my theatre cohort, to my greater graduate cohort, and—I suppose—to the undergraduates as well…
I’m sure I’m not the only here who is finding as much relief as joy in this moment. For me, it’s a relief of satisfaction and accomplishment but also one of coming to the period at the end of a very long, winding, exuberant, challenging sentence. There is much to celebrate—staggering amounts of growth in our crafts and our personal lives—and I’m sure that we’ll all find our ways to revel with those that we’ve shared our specific kind of Sarah Lawrence journey with.
But I’d like to celebrate the rest at the end of this Sarah Lawrence sentence, for we’ve reached the period at last, full stop.
(rest)
Now that we are here between fully developed thoughts—at an intermission to honor my field—let’s take a breath and reflect on ways to incorporate pause, reflection, and unproductivity into our daily practice of our art, our research, our advocacy, our life…
(rest)
For me, giving ourselves and the work important to us oxygen in this way is as radical and vital as any set of actions. So, first upon leaving this strange, three-sided quad, let’s be unproductive. Let’s allow ourselves the time, resources, and space to heal or mourn or be goofy or be angry or just SLEEP….
Let’s rest.
(rest)
Congratulations again. L’chaim!
Remarks as prepared for delivery