• ParkBulletinCover - The Park School

Tyler Dillard
I’m taking the early mornings and
unexpected friends.
I’m leaving the excellent teachers that
made my Park experience so great.
Jess Franks
I will take with me my leadership experience
that I gained through my role as
leader of Helping Hand.
I will leave behind my two little sisters.
Mary Fulham
I will take with me all of the good times
and new things I learned about my classmates
on Park bus rides.
I hope that I will leave behind the message
to younger students that the best way to
have fun is to be yourself and to take risks
because you can’t lose anything by just
being who you really are.
that I was just where I needed to be. A dear
friend, Ms. Wanda Holland Greene, who
relocated to San Francisco last summer, was
always there for me, and when times were
hard, she proved to be my greatest fan and
loudest cheerleader. Her exemplary morals,
winning spirit and concern for my overall
happiness willed me through some very
difficult days. I would imagine many of you
sitting in the audience right now could think
of a similar person from your school days.
Apart from my parents, she taught me more
about life then anyone I know, but I only
recently realized the most important takeaway
from our time together: she taught me
to be a good listener.
We all love to talk, some more than
others, and our words naturally serve a myriad
of purposes: to teach, to call to action and
to vent, among others. Listening, simply
stated, is an art, and also an asset to those
capable of offering their undivided attention
to those with something to say. On an individual
level, my closest friends are those that
know how to listen, and our friendship is a
two-way street, a mutual relationship in
which we are always available for each other.
Listening, to me, symbolizes respect, and
respect is a black-and-white concept, one that
requires no formal definition because the
theory of respect is ingrained in a child’s
mind in his formative years. With time, one
grows to realize, as I have, that the most
important things we learn come from other
people, and that we attain these pearls of wisdom
through listening to others. A keen listener
will earn the respect of his peers, but
more importantly, will gain knowledge many
others might overlook. Our vocabulary is an
indicator of our own character; we learn each
other’s tendencies by internalizing their
words. Parents, friends and teachers speak to
disseminate information and advice, and listening
allows us to identify with their words,
but it also shows the respect one holds for his
speaker and allows for one to better understand
that person as well. A good listener will
not only gain knowledge, but also will better
appreciate a person’s character, and ultimately,
always be one step ahead of everybody
else. So, if you haven’t really been listening up
to this point, start now, because my last piece
of advice this morning is the most important.
My life to date has been a series of
curve balls, one after the next. I take a few
practice swings, step up to the plate, take a
good stance, and prepare for the pitch. Far
too often I begin my swing, ready to crush
the ball out of the park, but then the ball
begins to curve, and I am forced to adjust at
the last second. Instead of the home run, I
settle for a single, or find a gap and manage a
double. Yes, at first I am disappointed
because, let’s be honest, a home run feels so
much better than a base hit; but, as baseball
fans are well aware, a base hit is often more
effective than a solo shot in that my reaching
first requires the team in the field to change
its position. If the next batter gets on base
thanks to gaps that otherwise would not have
been created, and this, in turn, leads to a
string of successful hits, my first single is ultimately
more effective than a solo home run.
So here’s the question: why is this baseball
analogy the most important advice I can
share with you this morning Because the
most difficult decisions I have had to make
in life have come after being repeatedly
thrown curve balls. I am disappointed at first
because, at crucial points in my life, I wanted
the fastball, but was forced to adapt and
adjust to the pitch I received. I only reached
first base when, in reality, I wanted to touch
all four. I had no control of the pitch, and
settled for what I considered to be, at that
time, second best. Fortunately, a teammate
has always managed to drive me home, and
my team tends to win the game. Don’t be
afraid of curve balls – they make you
stronger and you will be faced with many of
them in the years to come. Try not to be disappointed
if you find yourself settling for
what you believe to be second best. When
something is out of our control, how we
approach a seemingly undesireable situation
will, in the long run, build character. And in
12 The Park Bulletin | Fall 2009