The Most Important Lesson of Life by Kimmy Saylor

            Good evening, ladies and gentleman.  I appreciate you all coming to spend your time with me tonight for my final lecture as a professor of English, despite the fact that I will not keep you here long and will undoubtedly cause you to wonder if you wasted your gas getting here.

            Why will I not keep you here long, you may ask.  This is my Last Lecture, after all.  After years of experience with teaching and learning, I should have an abundance of things to tell you—lots of nuggets of knowledge to share and impede upon you.

            Alas, in my years, I have learned something new every day.  There is no denying that.  And I should logically, therefore, have a wealth of information to share with you. But the lessons I have gathered from these experiences have very limited genres that I can fortunately impart on you in very quick succession.

            As such, do not fear.  You will most certainly be home in time for whatever shows you have TIVOed for tonight. 

            First, most people suck.  This is a fact of life that I have unfortunately grown accustomed to.  You will meet many people whose actions will confuse you and plague you to no end.  People will leave you, abandon you, and try to tell you, and the people you hold most dear, that you don’t matter.

            Second, most people suck.  The more people I meet, the less I like people in general.  Unfortunately you will run into many people whose actions towards others appall you.  You will see your friends be talked about behind their back, while they are in the same room as the person who is talking about them.  You will see people physically make fun of others who have done nothing to merit the mocking.  You will see people walk out on a person, someone who has given their all to that individual, and you’ll see it done with the offender giving them no reason for such a harsh action.

            Yes, as you grow older, you will see these horrible things done.  Sometimes it will be done to you, sometimes it will be done to your closest friends. 

            I inform you of these terrible happenings not to depress you or stir in you a hatred for the human race.  Instead, I inform you of these trials and tribulations so you can learn from what you see.

            Not everyone you meet will be bad.  You will find people who are unfailingly loyal to you.  You will have a select group of people you trust with your life.  These are the people who matter.  These are the people you should keep close to you and should serve to remind you of what does matter.

            Because, in the end, it isn’t the horrible person who walked away from you without a care in the world, that matters.  It is you and those who are actually loyal to you who matter.  It is you who can decide what you make of the situation.  It is you who can keep your head held high with the confidence that you are the better person.  It is you who can comfort a friend who has been mocked mercilessly for no apparent reason other than they are viewed as ‘different.’ 

            It is you who can rise up and be the better person by tolerating the presence of those you are not particularly fond of.  You will without a doubt have to work with and interact with people you do not care for.  It is in your hands to be the better person and tolerate the cruelty you witness—not by simply taking the malice they hand to you, but by standing up against it.  

            To me, this is the most important lesson of life:  stand up for yourself and for those who remain loyal to you.  Know when the actions of others bothers you and don’t be afraid to vocalize your feelings towards the offender.  This to me is the most important lecture.  And, as such, it shall be my last.