congratulations, from the bottom of my heart.

The Apple Miner Colony was brought together by the College of Santa Fe. Due to some gross financial mishandlings, however, the college is almost certainly doomed to close its doors. After the tour, then, most of the band will be dispersing across the country and world to finish their educations, follow other dreams, or just get back on their feet.
For graduation this semester, it was decided that it would somehow be too expensive to host graduation at the actual college, so one was arranged at the community college. A large number of students did not like this idea and organized their own, official graduation ceremony outside on the grass at CSF. Both students and faculty divided, two graduation ceremonies commenced this morning. I attended the more 'rogue' version at the college and found myself getting choked up. I was saddened by the tone of the attendees, inspired by the professors and students who spoke, and riled up by Emily's speech in particular.
I began to think about dreams. The hopes and dreams of everyone on the grass today. Who is goverened by their dreams and who holds the reigns firmly in their hands.
Do you have the reigns on your dreams? If so,o you run them out of town, run them into the ground? Do you run them under warm water when they've gone cold and stale, run them to the airport when they've got a flight to catch? Perhaps your dreams have control of you. They hold you in their hands as your creator, tell you that things could be ok if only you could accomplish this or that. They never point out the okay things all around you.
The question of this generation, and it's one we take very seriously, is how to run hand in hand with those fruitful fantasies and ambient ambitions as equals. How to travel often, maintain passionate loves, keep our friends close, but keep the stables in our heads clean and smelling fresh. How to avoid a nine-to-five and therefore a life of servitude to someone else's ideals, yet be able to pay a mortgage or for our daugthers hospital stays. How to attain our wildest desires in a realistic and responsible manner.
I watched a group of students accept their diplomas today, and I was filled with nothing but hope that they, and I, are going to change everything. So, congratulations, Earth and humanity. You're about to receive the best back massage you've had in a long time.