Pencil Me In

I found these guys hangin' out at What's On 2nd (one of my favorite places)

2011-09-16T21:37:00.001-05:00

Illo Friday topic: Soaked

2011-05-22T11:32:00.003-05:00

I've posted this one before for the topic Rain. I figure it'll work again for now, 'til I (hopefully) finish my new one for Soaked.

2011-03-30T17:57:00.002-05:00

'ever have that dream where you're out for a ride in the back seat of the car, and you realize the driver is a dog?.....no?

Liz 1932-2011

2011-03-23T19:07:00.002-05:00

2010-10-29T20:46:00.002-05:00

Old (unsubmitted) Illo Friday drawing. Once upon a time, I submitted Illo Friday drawings every week. I would, in fact, get in a tizz if I didn't have an illo for that week. Then, one week I missed, and missed a few more times. Soon it became harder to draw. The ideas would come, but my hand couldn't put them to paper. If I did eke out a drawing, it was never "good enough", and so I would discard it. Every now and again I find an old sketchbook, and looking through it, think, "was that really so bad?" Submitting it would've been better than nothing. In the last few years, I've let my blog die a slow death. Maybe I'll quit being so hard on myself. This drawing wasn't my best, but now I'm thinkin', "so what?". I wonder what the topic was at the time I drew this?

2010-09-01T19:06:00.002-05:00

I'm still here. Slowly starting to draw again...

Illustration Friday entry: CAGED

2010-08-12T08:19:00.002-05:00

Illustration Friday: Caution

2009-08-27T07:36:00.004-05:00

Illustration Friday:Baby

2008-06-05T19:40:00.001-05:00

UFO House

2008-05-29T20:45:00.002-05:00

The Piano

2008-05-10T17:32:00.004-05:00

Framed

2008-05-08T20:43:00.001-05:00

Zoe

2008-05-06T08:58:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a year since I've posted anything. In my defense, I've been unable to scan new images in for some of that time. My sister Lisa helped me solve that problem on Sunday. She then said," Now, put something new on there. I'm tired of coming to your blog and seeing that same old drawing! (I'm sure she was speaking for the rest of my family, too).

This little sketch represents our favorite things to do when we all gather at our mothers' house.....coffee, Scrabble, and eating. (of course there's talking, too....that's why our Scrabble games take so long!)

ILLO. FRIDAY-Camouflage

2007-06-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

Wolf in Sheeps Clothing......

Your Paradise

2007-06-08T07:22:00.000-05:00

Over at Illo Friday, the topic is Your Paradise. This little house on beautiful St Simons Island was my paradise last week while on vacation.

I'm very rusty with a pencil, but I drew this for Zac, who keeps reminding me that it's been six months since I last posted.

ILLO.FRI. MASK

2006-12-16T21:43:00.000-06:00

ILLO.FRI. WIND

2006-11-05T23:22:00.000-06:00

He knew he would be in trouble when he got home.But it had been a rough day.He needed to stop at the ol' Rusty Nut to unwind......

2006-10-09T09:12:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZAC!

10-9-81

I love you! Mom

ILLO. FRI. PHOBIA

2006-09-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

Alektorophobia....fear of chickens
Motorphobia....fear of cars

I don't have any phobias.I'm not afraid of cars, and I'm not afraid of chickens; although I must confess....riding in a car with a chicken can be just a tad...er...uncomfortable. I once had a neighbor who was a little...um....odd.She called one day to ask if I wanted to go shopping with her. She owned a really ancient big old sedan.(half the time, it wasn't in running condition.)...and it was always ....well....rather messy inside.
When she pulled into the drive, I opened the passenger door, and started to get inside......"Ackkk!"..."What is that?" I asked. There, in the passenger side floorboard (glaring at me!) sat a chicken....A Chicken!
"Oh, that..." she said.." I didn't drive my car for a few days, and I forgot and left the window down. The chicken flew in, and laid her eggs in here, so now she's setting". Sure enough, she had laid her eggs on a pile of old papers, (and who knows what else.) Now, anyone else would probably have moved the eggs and chicken to another place (but not my neighbor....this was right up her alley...sharing her car with a chicken!)
"Well, are you getting in, or not?"
Long story short......I carefully climbed in, and rode the eight miles to town with a setting hen between my feet.She glared at me with her beady little eyes the whole way. The more I thought about it, I realised I didn't want to disturb this passenger any more than I had to.
We pulled up at the grocery store. "Well.... are you coming, or not?"my friend asked. "Ummm....er...no, I really didn't need anything ( I lied)....I just came along for the ride.....

2006-09-26T08:01:00.000-05:00

Happy 19th birthday, Nick! love always, Mom

PLAY

2006-08-19T17:19:00.001-05:00

I had posting problems the other night while trying to download this for Illo Fri's subject "Play". ....Too late for Illo Fri, and not the best drawing I've ever done, but it's been so long since I've added anything new, I'm afraid everyone has given up on me.
I played clarinet in high school band.A few years back, I dug out my old clarinet, drove an hour away to the nearest music store to buy a reed for it, and after returning home, found that I could still play the Marriage of Figaro from memory. Fast forward to a few days ago......I dug it out again to draw for this subject, but play it? No such luck......oh, I could still remember the fingerings, but it seems that in my "old age", I have absolutley no lung power to play. I managed a few hideous sounding squeaks. Let's face it, my clarinet playing days are over........however, I recently learned on one of those "do it yourself" decorating shows on TV, that a clarinet can be turned into a pretty nifty looking lamp.Maybe I'll give that a try...
On another note.......thanks to the few of you who haven't given up on me yet, and still check to see if I'm still here! I've just been really busy.My little blog is now one year old. I hope to get back on track, and post more regularly.
*I gave up on the lamp idea, and hung my clarinet on the wall;it made for a neato art piece.

Rain

2006-06-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Dance, Dance

2006-06-22T23:34:00.000-05:00

THINGS

2006-06-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

I once read that if you had a blog, you must post your 100 things.I love to read the "Things" about other people, but I really don't think that I could come up with that many things of interest about me. (I may not even come up with 10).....so we'll see how it goes.....

1. I'm 5' 11'' tall....I've always wished I had that one more inch. (more height is helpful, when you begin to get more wider).
2. I blush very easily (I hate that). The first time I remember really blushing was in Mrs. Prices 6th grade class. She always chose our 6th period class to hang out in the teachers lounge, leaving our class unsupervised.One day, a group of boys pulled a mean prank on me. All of these years later, I still turn red when I think of it.( silly, I know).
3. I played the clarinet in the high school band ( and blushed crimson if I ever had a solo.)
4. Salty snacks are my downfall (I prefer them over chocolate.)
5. When I was a kid, I lived about 3 blocks from the public pool. We always had a season pass, and went almost every day. My brother, sister and I all could do a 1 1/2 flip off of the high dive.
6. We once sneaked over the fence at the pool, and were just about to dive in for a moonlight swim when the cops pulled up. We hid just in time.
7. We had the best childhood ever, except for the neighborhood bully and his evil henchmen. (have you ever watched the movie The War?)
8. My favorite movie is To Kill A Mockingbird. (I wanted to be Scout when I was young.)
9. My first car was a white 1970 Dodge Challenger with black leather interior, and stick shift.I LOVED that car. I was parked on the street outside of my work eating lunch one day in my car.I got out to go back to work, got right inside the door , and my car was struck by 2 other cars and mashed flat. I still have the Challenger emblem I picked up off the street.
10. I was a late bloomer......I was still building treehouses at fourteen.
11. I love the smell of freshly mown hay, water out of a garden hose, and sawmills.
12. My grandparents lived in front of a sawmill (where my grandfather worked) when I was a kid. My brother, my cousin Bo and I played hide and seek there every evening when we stayed at my grandparents. I'm sure we worried my poor grandmother to death.( we slid down the huge belts of the saw, and swung by chain over the creosote vat, just to name a few stupidly dangerous things.)
13. My brother and I are the same age for 11 days every year.We were stuck together like glue all of our childhood until he discovered girls.
14. I can roof a house.
15. I'm also pretty good at finishing drywall.
16. I drink too much sweet iced tea.
17. My favorite carbonated drink is root beer.
18. As teenagers ( with my brother as our guide) we and our friends often explored the caves in the valley below our house.You had to lower yourself down by rope to enter, and crawl through a tunnel knee deep in water. (quite a few people have been lost in those same caves, and had to be rescued.)
19. My favorite meal to cook.......roast w/potatoes and carrots, and green beans and cornbread.
20. I have 2 sons. (When you have boys, and you come home crying with a bad haircut, they laugh at you and tell you that you look like George Washington.)
21. When I was 10 or 11, there was an old fashioned tent revival in town. The preacher ( a pilot), promised a plane ride to all of the kids who attended every night of that week.My brother, cousins and I went every night, just to ride in the plane at the end of the week.
22. My husband proposed on our third date. We were married 3 months later.
21. When I was a kid, my uncle owned a tavern with a pool hall in front. We were allowed to play pool after closing hours. I'm pretty good at shooting pool.
22. I'm not too good at dancing.....so I only danced back when The Bump was in fashion.( if you're too young to remember, it was the late 70's.)
23. I think I'm a pretty good singer, but I only sing when I'm alone in the car( and really loud.)
24. I still have a pair of jeans from high school w/ peace sign and Woodstock patches sewn on them. ( I could probably only get my feet into them now.)
25. My favorite flavor of ice cream is butter pecan. (When I make homemade, I always make cherry.)
26. When I was a kid, I used to climb on the roof, and make scary noises through the furnace vent pipe to scare my younger sisters.
27. My sister Lisa and I used to iron each others curly hair in the mornings before school.
28. I have always wished that I could play guitar. (is it too late to learn now?)
29. I was fourteen when my youngest sister was born. I was also learning to sew then, and liked to practice by making clothes for her. I hope I didn't make her wear anything too tacky!
30. My first brand new car was a 1979 Chevy Camaro. I paid $6, 400 for it. I still have the paperwork.(I can't seem to throw things away)
31. I wish I were more outgoing...although I'm getting a little better as I get older.
32. I hate shoes! They are the first thing to come off when I come home. I will run outside to the mailbox on a frosty day without stopping to put on shoes.
33. I wish I was a person who could wear hats.(it would make bad hair days so much easier)
34. I'm terrified of snakes, even the "good" ones. I don't even want to see them on T.V.
35. I rarely go to bed before 11p.m. But I still get up early in the morning. I always plan to sleep late on the weekends, but never do. My husband goes to bed by 7 p.m, so he is always up by 5 or 6 a.m. He always raises the shade, and says, " Get Up Get Up The Sun Is Up !" This REALLY ticks me off!
36. As teenagers, it was no longer cool to swim at the pool, so we swam in every creek, river, lake and old strip mine within driving distance. Although I was extremely bashful, I was a real daredevil. I once jumped off of a VERY TALL cliff to impress my brother and our friends (all guys ). None of them were brave enough to do it. ( I really regretted it the moment my feet left the edge, but it was too late to turn back then!) It was a terrifying descent to the water!
37. When paying for something, I always like to have the correct change.
38. I don't own a cell phone. I just don't want to talk that much!
39. When I was a toddler, I "drowned". My dad worked 2nd shift, and as he got out of the tub, and dressed for work, my brother and I stopped the tub back up and sneaked into the water to play. My mom found me , not breathing in the bottom of the tub.She ran with me to the next door neighbors. He performed CPR on me for a long time, but finally told my mom it was too late. He told her they should call the police and my dads' work so they could tell him when he got there to turn around and come home.....but at that moment, I began to cough......
40. I have a very large scar on the back of my leg, right above the kneepit. When I was 13, I was climbing back over the chain link fence after retrieving a wayward football. I slipped and ripped a long gash in my leg.My brother actually had to lift me off of the barb. I still remember..it hurt like ##**##!!!!
41. I love to go to those tiny old timey movie theatres.On vacation in Ashville N.C. this week, we found one there, and went to see Garrison Keillors' Prairie Home Companion. The whole audience clapped when the movie ended. ( they just don't do that anymore, do they? It was nice!)

Well, I'm out of "things" for now, and thought I would stop at forty. I threw in one extra. Geez! How do these people ever come up with 100?

2006-05-27T23:22:00.000-05:00

I've never been one to wear much makeup. Some years back however, I looked in the mirror and realized I had no eyebrows to speak of.They needed a little help...just a little filling in with an eyebrow pencil.Soon after this discovery, I realized I also needed glasses.Anyone who wears glasses will tell you it's hard to apply your eye makeup with your glasses on.Add to this problem the fact that the lighting over my bathroom mirror is horrible.So, once I am in the car, in the light of day, I always lean over and check my makeup in the rear view mirror.I can never seem to do matching eyebrows.....I always seem to have one cynical raised eyebrow!
Maybe it's not just my eyebrows that are fading away.....maybe I've lost a coupla brain cells, too.How else to account for the discovery I made one day in the rearview mirror.... What? Did a shiny object capture my attention,and I just forgot to draw on that other eyebrow?This sent me scrambling for a no.2 pencil from under the seat, to finish off the job.....

Then, the problem seemed to be solved. My daughter in law left some makeup at my house. One morning, I couldn't find my pencil, so I looked through the makeup she had left.I found the perfect pencil...it went on so smoothly....I drew the perfect eyebrows. I felt no need to check them in the rearview mirror.I went grocery shopping,and left the house on a few more occasions, never checking the rearview mirror. Then, in the car one day, I turned to look at my son. "Mom!...Why do you have purple eyebrows?" ......"What?" I said.(in horror). I leaned over to look in the mirror. "Oh MY God!" It was true ...I had PURPLE eyebrows!!! I could have died....I had been to the grocery store this way....I had been out IN PUBLIC!!

When I got in the house, I rushed to get the pencil...I took it to the light...it was not an eyebrow pencil....it was some sort of eyeshadow/liner....the color?......GRAPE...yes,GRAPE!!

Maybe Whoopi has the right idea...... No eyebrows is so much easier!!!

2006-05-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2006-05-21T01:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my dear brother Ronald!
I love you very much!

2006-05-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

DEVILED EGGS
I'm too late to link to IF's challenge of Angels and Devils this week, but it's been so long since I posted, I felt the need to do something.....anything. I have just been uninspired lately, as you can see. Now, there's a new topic....SORRY....gosh, that's gonna be a hard one!

ROBOT

2006-04-25T00:39:00.000-05:00

Life on the run was hard......

SPOTTED

2006-04-18T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here's my fish. He has some spots.But he really has a lot of dots...

Waiting Room...

2006-04-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

I had a doctors appointment.The waiting room was quite full. I took one of the few remaining seats. I had been there a while, when an older gentleman came in. He was dressed in a nice blue suit, and in one hand was one of those compact folded umbrellas.He took the seat next to mine. I went about reading my paper.
BBBZZZZZ!!!I nearly jumped out of my seat! I glanced sideways......BBBBZZZZ....he had gotten a rechargeable shaver out of his pocket.......and he was shaving....BBBZZZ.......in the waiting room! At first I thought " well, Yuck!!"....But then, it went on and on and on. "This is absurd", I thought...then I got the giggles, and had to hide behind my paper.
When I could control myself, I looked over my paper. BBBZZZ...I tried to make eye contact with the other people...BBBBZZZZ......you know the kind of contact that says "Yes, this guy is weird!". But, you know what? Everyone in the room was just carrying on about their business. Not one person seemed to think this was odd.BBBBZZZZ.....and I swear this guy shaved for 15 minutes!
Finally the nurse called my name. When we got in the back, she asked "How are you today?" " Fine", I said "but there was a guy shaving in the waiting room." Surely she would think it odd, but no, she just smiled as if I had remarked on the weather.
Maybe I'm just odd.........

SPRING

2006-04-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

TIME TO PLANT....
I used to save my seeds to share. I would put them in an envelope and draw a picture of the flower on the outside. Remembering that gave me the idea to draw these little seed packets.

Monster

2006-03-30T20:50:00.000-06:00

FEET

2006-03-23T18:12:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I know you've seen this drawing before. I used it for the topic Small.
But, I couldn't seem to come up with a better idea all week, and here were these
perfectly good feet , so.......
If you've not seen them before, they belong to my son Zac and his daughter Zoe.

TATTOO

2006-03-15T12:32:00.000-06:00

INSECTS

2006-03-09T01:33:00.000-06:00

.....seems I'm running out of time,so here
are a few simple bug sketches.....

Tea Party: You're Invited

2006-03-01T22:54:00.000-06:00

These are a few pieces of a little tea set given to me by a boy named Allen in Mrs. Pierces third grade class.He drew my name for Christmas that year.

Simple

2006-02-15T15:28:00.000-06:00

Simple toys are always the best.

Old Valentines

2006-02-14T20:38:00.000-06:00

Thought I would share these old valentines. Some of these belonged to my father-in-law, who is now in his seventies.

Glamour

2006-01-29T17:50:00.000-06:00

I found my inspiration in an old Life magazine. Don't know if I captured the young Liz or not.......

Cats

2006-01-23T23:02:00.000-06:00

Peeping Toms.

E is for...

2006-01-18T23:12:00.000-06:00

SEA

2006-01-08T00:31:00.000-06:00

He was a legend...

Flavor

2006-01-03T19:27:00.000-06:00

I didn't mean to come off like a big commercial, but while trying to come up with a flavor to draw, I thought of a few flavorful things that originated in Birmingham, Al.
I can remember going to the grand opening of a Jacks Hamburgers when I was a kid in the 60's. They had a d.j. there who gave away 45's to all of the kids( I still have mine.) Hamburgers and fries were 15 cents, and milkshakes were 20. I can still sing the original jingle. ( you don't want to hear me!)
My friend Jeannie moved to Massachusetts years ago. Every year after she comes back to visit, her suitcase is loaded with bottles of Dales Sauce on the plane ride back. Enough said...
Buffalo Rock is a ginger ale unlike any you have ever had. It's a dark colored drink that has a very distinctive strong spicy flavor. Originally developed for medicinal purposes, it has a lot of ginger in it, so it's really helpful for children who get carsick.I probably didn't like it when I was a kid.
What flavors do you think of that are original to your area?

http://www.eatatjacks.com/
http://www.dalesseasoning.com/
http://www.buffalorock.com/aboutus/history.html

Flavor - Coffee

2006-01-03T19:10:00.000-06:00

My mother bought this old aluminum coffee pot at an estate sale. She knows I like old things, so she gave it to me.It's an original dripolator, made up of 3 parts. You put the coffee in the middle part, then pour boiling water into the top, where it slowly drips through the coffee into the bottom. It makes the best coffee ever! And every time I make coffee , I think of my Mom (who I don't get to see as often as I would like.)

Flavor - Onion

2006-01-03T00:42:00.000-06:00

Holiday

2005-12-30T00:04:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-20T20:38:00.000-06:00

Left to Right: My sister Lisa, Me, and my brother Ronald.

We look like we are really happy to see Santa.

Surprise

2005-12-13T22:38:00.000-06:00

Alvin always avoided confrontation, but he had decided "If this guy bumps my seat one more time, I'm turning around and giving him the evil eye."

Blue..

2005-12-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

I have blue eyes.

Zoe

2005-12-03T16:58:00.000-06:00

I drew my granddaughter's feet for the last Illo. Friday "Small", so I just thought I would post some pictures of the real Zoe.

Small

2005-11-27T23:35:00.000-06:00

Zac and Zoe's feet.

These feet belong to my 6'6" 24 year old son Zac and my two year old granddaughter Zoe.

Faces From My Sketchbook...

2005-11-26T17:17:00.000-06:00

This picture is the only one actually based on a person I know; I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

An Old Drawing

2005-11-20T00:12:00.000-06:00

I drew this picture over ten years ago. It is one of only a few I have done in color. I drew it with a fine point pen, and colored it using soft pastels. I had no clue as to how to use the pastels, and I have never attempted again. It's been hanging in my dad's bedroom, and I borrowed it to put up here.

Happy Birthday

2005-11-13T22:42:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Night

2005-11-09T21:39:00.000-06:00

Night time... my favorite time to be outside. We live on a farm, in the house built by my husband's grandparents. I love to stand outside and listen to the night sounds... bullfrogs in the ponds, a distant owl, the night critters rustling the leaves in the hollow. I have taken a few pictures while my family were inside sleeping. We live on top of a mountain, eight miles from the nearest town, down a one-lane road, so there is no one to notice a woman in her pajamas with a camera and tripod in the middle of night.

Here is a sample of my pictures:

Broken

2005-11-01T22:24:00.000-06:00

It's always your favorite sweater........

Remote

2005-10-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

Annie told herself that she would be safe now. He would never find her here....

Lost

2005-10-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder where those socks really go?

Float

2005-10-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

This is the first thing that came to mind, while having lunch recently in a "finer" restaurant my son was surprised to find this very large special ingredient in his soup.

In case no one else took this route, I also did a second picture...

Farm Fresh Eggs

2005-09-27T23:03:00.000-05:00

My illustration for "Fresh".

Escape

2005-09-18T00:06:00.000-05:00

The first thing that came to mind was the 1979 film "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood.

...depth.

2005-09-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

Root

2005-09-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

I have waited all week for that bolt of inspiration to give me a unique twist on this week's topic... well, it never came. So here's a rutabaga.

Dreams

2005-08-28T23:19:00.000-05:00

Not really happy with this... but in my recurring dream I'm standing outside of a huge, crowded public pool. Everyone is swimming, splashing, and happy, and all of a sudden I am in the pool. But when I look around, everyone else is gone... and the last drop of water is slipping down the drain.

An Old Jar

2005-08-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

I've been practicing on an old canning jar. It's a bit smudgy...

Reflection

2005-08-21T13:58:00.000-05:00

Reflection

Wisdom

2005-08-18T20:35:00.000-05:00

"My dad is 77 yrs. old. He loves going to church, watching Jeopardy! on T.V., eating ice cream, working the Sunday crossword puzzle, old Lawrence Welk re-runs and... he is the wisest man I know. "

My "Empty" Picture for Illustration Friday.

2005-08-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

I didn't get this in on time.

Hello It's Me!

2005-08-09T21:16:00.001-05:00

I created my blog on August 9, 2005.

My sons' high school graduation speech:

As a lonely little kid, I made friends with movies. During the Depression, I shared my childhood curiosities with Scout and Jem in To Kill A Mockingbird. Jeffrey Beaumont showed me that everything is not what it seems in Blue Velvet's outwardly, peaceful little town. I first fell in... and out of love with Annie Hall. Somewhere in a deserted high rise, John McClaine showed me just what a thrill seeker I was. And tonight, I am graduating with The Breakfast Club.
The eighties brat-pack film, The Breakfast Club, that I watched so many times growing up, takes place on a Saturday. Five kids have all violated high school rules in one way or another, and they've qualified for a special version of detention: all day long, from 8 to 4, in the school library. One at a time they reluctantly arrive at the place of punishment, the rebel, the weirdo, the jock, the princess, and the brain. These kids have nothing in common, and they have an aggressive desire not to have anything in common, but after a series of heated conflicts and emotional confessions, the group of teenagers come to realize that... behind the exterior, they are more alike than they are different; with the same hangups, the same fears, and the same desires. Tonight, despite our varying labels that others might define us by, we are the same.
We are sitting here with the same doubts about the future. The same uncertainities. And although many us will surely travel far different paths, right now on this football field, we're all in the same place in our lives, in the same situation. Graduates: Now is our time to move on to new and different things. Even if it means leaving your home, friends, and family I urge you to chase the dreams you have. Take advantage of this time to grow into the person you aspire to be; let your soul carve it's own path, your spirit take adventures where they may, and your imagination fly. For, in the words of Mark Twain, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
But during your journey through life, never lose sight of who you are. Make sure the dreams you follow are you're own. Friends and family want what's best for us, but only we know what's in our hearts. The path to success does not always lead to wealth, power, or someone else's expectations, but to happiness, instead. Follow your heart and reach for your dreams, and you will find true success.
So on this brink of oncoming discovery and adulthood, it doesn't matter if you were the football star, the loner, the prom queen, the minority, or the nerd... sitting here tonight, we are only what we choose to make ourselves. In this moment, we are the same. Today's thoughtful graduating seniors, tommorow's men and women of change, integrity, and success.