Good afternoon, everyone!

I love seeing so many amazing people in one room, especially because I know how hard we’ve all worked to get here. I know it was hard for me because it took me 30 minutes to find a parking spot. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Audrey Kirkland and I’m the president of our chapter of Sigma Tau Delta.

When I thought about what to say today, it was pretty hard to focus because I had all of my finals going on at the same time. And being a student speaker is a little intimidating because I have no experience in the real world yet, so everything I say is just guessing. So every day I would put off writing this speech a little bit because I would just think to myself, “I’ll do it tomorrow”. And I said that enough times that tomorrow actually came and I had to finally write it. But I was still at a loss for what to say. The one thing that kept coming back to me was something I heard in my very first semester here. And this wasn’t something I heard from a beloved professor or a colleague or a friend. It was a random conversation I overheard from a group of frat guys in front of Tate.

On that day, I had just transferred from a different school a few weeks prior and I didn’t know many people here yet and I was also not doing well in my accounting class. And one day I woke up and it was the most depressing day ever. There were heavy, dark clouds and a cold wind and it was supposed to rain all afternoon. But as I was walking to class, I heard this group of guys in front of me complaining about the weather and how they would have to postpone their party until next week. Until one of them stopped them all and said simply, “Guys, what’s the issue, it’s a beautiful day in Athens!” And was he probably joking? Yes. But I decided to actually take what he said seriously.

Unbeknownst to this random man, I had decided to make “it’s a beautiful day in Athens” my motto for the school year. Because, to me, these words mean that no matter what was going on externally, I was able to change the outcome by acknowledging the
beauty and goodness in the present moment. I even wrote it on a sticky note and put it on my bathroom mirror just to remind myself every day. Because for a long time, I’ve struggled with the same problem as those frat guys: focusing on the negatives of the day, and putting all of my hope and effort into tomorrow.

I see this as an unsustainable way to live. This issue ran deeper than just procrastinating; I felt like if I didn’t do something perfect the first time, then I might as well wait until it would be perfect. For example, when I first got to UGA, like many of us, I just started trying things out to see what would stick. One of those things happened to be writing for the Red & Black. I interviewed with them, went to the meetings, read the really long PowerPoint that they give you about all the rules, and I thought I was ready. But then, I was given my fi rst assignment and I was immediately terrified. I thought that my ideas were not good enough, that my interviewing skills were pretty terrible, and that all in all I was going to be the most embarrassing addition to the Red&Black’s history. I put off writing that article for so long, that when I did write it, it was rushed and not my best effort. So my career as a journalist ended with exactly one article. You can still read it, it’s still up; it’s not very good, though.

It’s not a bad thing to be hopeful about tomorrow, but I discovered that every time that I was stressed or anxious or afraid, I would put off everything until the next day. But as I spent more time here, in Park Hall, with all of you guys surrounding me, I became more and more sure that what mattered was already happening right in front of me. Some of my greatest memories as an English major are working with my friends on group projects, even when we were stressed about them. I loved getting out of an exam and waiting in the hallway to debrief the experience with my classmates. And I especially loved when we would all read a book together for a class, and through those discussions we would reveal things about each other and the world that we could have never found out alone. All of these memories, and more, were only made when I stopped looking forward for answers, and instead held onto what I could do with my present.

But now we have all run out of tomorrows. So, though I am very hopeful for our futures, and I do spend a lot of time still thinking about what could happen, I think that today, and every day, we should pay attention to what’s happening in this very moment. Look
at the people around you, say hi to that person from your class that you think probably doesn’t even remember you, tell a professor how much their class impacted you, and tell the people you love that you love them. It’s a beautiful day in Athens, and it always will be, because the beauty comes from you, and from what you choose to do with it.

Thank you to the English department for asking me to speak today. Thank you to all of our wonderful faculty and staff here. And last but not least, a very big congratulations to my fellow graduates. Thank you everyone for sharing these years with me. I hope to see you all in the future, but I’m very glad that I am with you all today. Thank you.

Audrey Kirkland is a senior graduating with degrees in both English and Marketing. She is the President of Sigma Tau Delta, an editorial intern at the Georgia Review, and a huge fan of Doctor Who. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in publishing.