Email Benjamin Adamson if you’d had or have any sightings.

Embracing Failure

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. Mr. Belk, and my dear friend Billy Edd Wheeler. Mr. President, Mr. Former President, Mr. President Who Is Not Here As Yet, and those of you who hope one day to be president – good morning.

For those who came for the fashion show, and have no clue as to why I’m standing here, my name is Janis Ian. I am a songwriter by trade. I wrote my first song at twelve – was published at thirteen – made a record at fourteen, had a number one single at fifteen, was a has-been at sixteen.

By your age I was starting my second career, struggling to be known as something other than a child prodigy. Fortunately for me, I was again successful. Which doesn’t begin to explain why I’m here. In fact, I’m more at  a loss than any of you. I never graduated from college because I never went to college. For that matter, I barely went to high school. The first day of first grade, when my mother asked me how it had gone, I told her I hated it and was never going back.

I hated school all my life. I quit the day I turned sixteen, and I have never regretted it. So I find it ironic that I put my brother through college, my mother through college and graduate school, and my partner through law school. And after all that, I now help to fund a foundation that does the same for complete strangers.  I cannot understand it myself, except that I was taught to give back, and I can think of no better gift than an education.

I am nervous today because almost everything I know is self-taught. I learned from books, and movies, and other artists. So I’m not quite sure how to deal with a horde of people who know about things like final exams, graduation ceremonies, dorm rooms, and Sterno.

I tried to figure out what graduating must feel like. My last graduation ceremony was sixth grade, when the homeroom teacher gave us each a pencil box and warned us not to chew the erasers until the end of next year.

At first I wondered if it was like writing a song. There’s an incredible feeling of achievement; it’s like walking on air. And then, an equally incredible letdown as you wonder whether you’ll ever be able to do it again.

Then I thought perhaps it’s like making a record. That takes a good three months, a very long time in the life of a performer. And at the end, you feel pretty good about it… at least, until it comes out and no one but your family buys it.

Last, I thought maybe graduating from college must be like having a baby. That takes nine months, plus a little preparation. But unlike graduating, where you actually get to leave and move on, that baby is with you forever. Sometimes they even move back in, whereas I doubt most of you plan to come back here and take courses next semester.

Now, I think that going off to college and graduating must be like being an astronaut. One day, you’re down here in a familiar place. You know what is normal, what the sky looks like at night, what the air smells like when the grass is fresh-mowed. Your feet are planted on the earth, and you have a firm connection to that soil. You know the shape of the stars at night. There’s a certain comfort in all that.

Then one day, by your own choice, you leave it all behind and take off for outer space! And “normal” changes, because nothing is normal any longer. Even the familiar things – the Earth, now seen from the stars – gravity, where “up” is now a relative term– even those things are strange and unfamiliar.

So I think going off to college and graduating must be like being an astronaut. There’s the tremendous excitement when it begins, the fear and astonishment that you of all people get to do this great thing. Then there’s the wear and tear, the daily struggle, the incredible effort to make everything work. And at some point, there’s the boredom, the waiting for it to finally be over. Then, as you approach re-entry, the fear that you will fail, and in failing, be destroyed.

America is built on the dream of success. For centuries, that dream has been defined by financial achievement, political power, dominance and subjugation. We are rarely asked what success really represents to us, or why failure is so demeaning.

I rarely failed in what I did, because if I wasn’t good at it, I didn’t do it. I played piano at two, and played well. I picked up a guitar at ten, and within a couple of years I was writing songs good enough to get Grammy nominations. I succeeded in everything I did – writing, performing, recording. But in my early thirties, I found myself at a loss. I was wealthy, respected, admired… but I hated my work. I longed to be Picasso, and instead it felt like I was painting Christ on black velvet to sell at the local mall. And it was killing me.

You see, I am an artist. I believe that art saves. I believe it is often the only thing that stands between us and chaos. I have faith that while the world is crumbling, art survives. So to feel like my work was a mockery of what I could do, that I was not living up to my talent… well, it was killing me.

I was fortunate, at that time, to know a great lady of the theater – Stella Adler. She was 83 years old to my 33, and through her I’d come to understand that my legacy as an artist went far beyond the work of my generation. My legacy began with the first caveman who sat down around a fire and told a story of the day’s hunt. My legacy began the first time someone described the stars as diamonds, spread across a blanket in the sky. My legacy began when that first crude piece of life began – because that’s what art really is. A beginning.

And all I knew was endings.

When I told Stella I couldn’t seem to write anything that pleased me, she took my hands in hers and said “Oh, my dear. You have reached the age where talent is no longer enough.” I’d been successful because of my talent, but I had learned about as much as I could from my gifts, and it was time to learn differently now.

Truth be known, success doesn’t teach you much. Failure, disappointment, collapse – those are the things that build. You can only know what works when you know what doesn’t work. That’s hard-wired in our bones. How many times does a baby fall on its butt, before it learns to stand without help? It learns a lot from falling – up and down, sideways and backwards, coordination, looking ahead – paying attention. And every time it fails, those muscles get stronger.

I had to learn to fail before I could find my way again. So over the next few years, I took on a bunch of things I’d always been scared of before.

I took ballet. You can’t tell from there, but underneath this robe is not a ballerina’s body. My dance teacher told me months later that after my first day, her only thought was “Good God, how can I get her to leave and never come back?!”

I was awful at ballet. I was awful at opera, photography, physics, and line dancing. And I loved every minute of it, because I learned to separate knowledge from the worldly view of success.

So get used to failure. Learn to embrace it. Because this world will beat you up. This world remembers failure before it rewards success. It blurs the line between fame and notoriety, between pandering and achievement. You will fail, and fail over and over again. The rest of us survive it – so will you.

Speaking of failure, another thing to know as you go out to face the world is that most people will not like you. I’m sure you’re astonished to hear that, but it’s true. And that’s okay. Between Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus, we have so many friends we’re going to have to start hiring enemies just to see some contrast in our social lives.

A person can only tolerate so many friends. Robin Dunbar theorizes that humans only have the brain capacity to manage 100-250 relationships total.
250 people is about the amount of people graduating this year. Do you really know each and every one of them well enough to care what they think about you? Embrace you failed relationships. They will turn out to be more important than you’d think.

You  are the largest graduating class Warren Wilson College has known. That’s a great and a dangerous thing. Great, because it means the school’s message is being heard in ever-widening circles. Dangerous, because with growth comes temptation. We have only to look at the banking industry to know that.

So be good alumni. Not just by sending money. Any idiot can make money. Anyone with a bank account can send it. Money is important, but it’s just a medium of exchange. You can have fifty million dollars in your hands, but it won’t keep Alzheimer’s at bay. You can be as rich as Croesus, but if you are dying of thirst in the desert and your companion has only enough water for one, all the money in the world will not buy it for you.

Money is a medium of exchange. It has no intrinsic value. It’s only useful if you can use it to buy what’s really important. So think about what is really important to you.

From my vantage point, time and energy are precious commodities. I don’t  remember the last time I was bored, because I can’t remember the last time I had time to be bored. For me, money buys the time to do what I care about, not what’s expected of me.

You’ve spent much of your lives doing what this world expects of you. Honor your father and mother. Tie your shoelaces. Don’t wear pajamas to school. Get good grades, be upwardly mobile. Graduate.

Now they will expect other things. Straighten up. Get a job. Get married.  Raise 1.14 children. Don’t rock the boat, don’t push too hard, don’t take on things you can’t handle, don’t act like a kid any more, don’t don’t don’t.

People from your old life will say “I’ve known you for years. I know who you are, what you need, what you want. Choose this, not that. Trust me, I know what’s best for you.”

Don’t you believe it. Don’t you believe it for a second! No one knows better than you who you are. And who you are has changed enormously since you got here. If there is one thing you can count on in this world, it’s that people change. Relationships evolve. Nothing stays the same.

Years from now, this day will be just one highlight in a life of highlights. So pay attention. Learn to love yourself. I don’t mean how good you look, how smart you are, how whatever… love your self. The indefinable things that make you into you.

This world will not hand it to you. This world will grind your nose into the dust and dare you to get up. This world will tell you everything you cannot  become, and try to suck you into the poverty of its own diminished expectations.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t let fear rule you. Don’t even let it come into consideration. Live as though there is nothing on earth to fear. You will get hurt. Your heart will get hurt. There will be pain. This world is a hard and unyielding place – but it is a good place to be alive. And if you make your own mistakes, if you embrace your own failures, they will be yours, and you will learn from them and profit by them.

At the end of the day, we all stand alone.  I have lived with the love of my life for 23 years, and yet at the end of the day, I know we are alone.

You are a country of one. You must make your own miracles. And you cannot make a miracle without failing now and then.

Astonish yourself with your bravery, and you will astonish the world as well.

Thank you for your time.

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You also can read the Senior Speech by biology major Sam Wasko here.

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Bookstore hours: May and June, Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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DeVries Gym will close Friday at 5 p.m. Summer hours: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Closed weekends

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3^rd Sunday of every month except for June, July, and August

3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall

(On the campus of Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, NC)

Primarily using The Sacred Harp (1991). Beginners are most welcome and there are plenty of loaner books available. We also have Sacred Harp books available for purchase ($18).

2012 Schedule

Sunday, January 15

Sunday, February 19

Sunday, March 18

Sunday, April 15

Sunday, May 20

Saturday, July 28: Annual Singing, 10 AM – 3 PM, Morris Pavilion, WWC campus

Sunday, September 16

Sunday, October 21

Sunday, November 18

Sunday, December 16

Our annual singing is held in conjunction with the Swannanoa Gathering Shape Note Singing, which occurs on the Saturday concluding the Swannanoa Gathering’s Old-Time Week. It takes place in Morris Pavilion on the campus of Warren Wilson College, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM, with dinner on the grounds. Books used include The Christian Harmony (2010), Sacred Harp, and Southern Harmony.

For more information call Sarah and Kevin Kehrberg (828-772-6232; 828-771-3765)

The Swannanoa Journal has been a weekly radio program on two regional radio stations for over ten years.  Five years ago when I was asked to manage this program, a shift was made to center the outreach program around students.  Students of Catherine Reid’s Environmental Journalism and Lockie Hunter’s Feature Writing courses have been annual contributors to the SJ radio program.  The SJ work crew has been vital in also writing and advancing the quality of the recordings from our partner’s recording studio, Asheville FM.

I am proud of all the students who have written for The Swannanoa Journal over the past 5 years. Some articles inspired people into action and even resulted in unsolicited financial contributions to programs such as INSULATE!.  All of the achievements of our students have led to the expanded distribution through of two additional college radio stations (Lenoir Rhyne and UNCA) and the Mountain Xpress online newspaper.  Casey also took the lead in making this expansion possible.

Congratulations, Jay.

1. Never feed a bear. Do not leave cat food outside. Most black bears will avoid people, except bears that have learned to associate food with people. Ninety percent of all human/bear conflicts have been associated with habituated, food-conditioned bears. A fed bear is a dead bear. Fed individuals become pests that will either be hit by a car or shot to protect the people.

2. Never leave garbage or compost uncovered. Secure all garbage in sturdy containers with tight fitting lids. Take in bird feeders (especially suet) until the cold months. Do not clean fish outside of houses. Do not put garbage out until the morning of pick up.

3. Never approach a bear, especially bear cubs. When surprised or when protecting cubs, a black bear will threaten the intruder by laying back its ears, uttering a series of huffs, chopping its jaws, and stamping its feet. This may be followed by a charge, but in most instances it is only a bluff. Keep a distance of at least 100 yards between you and bears. When encountering a bear, leave the area and give the bear the right-of-way. Always leave the animal an escape route.

4. Be alert when hiking in bear territory. To avoid bear encounters, hike in groups, carry noisemakers such as rocks in an empty can, or shuffle your feet in dry leaves to make noise. Noisemakers may not be effective in dense brush or near rushing water. Be especially alert when traveling into the wind because bears may not pick up your scent. Avoid food sources such as berry patches and carcass remains. Watch for bear sign – fresh tracks, digging, and scat (droppings). If you encounter these signs or see a bear at a distance, make a wide detour. Pepper spray only works within 30 feet or closer and may antagonize a bear as much as deter it.

5. At close range keep calm and assess the situation. A bear rearing on its hind legs is not always aggressive. If it moves its head from side to side, it may only be trying to pick up scent and focus its small eyes. Speak in low tones and back away slowly. Do not run. Most bears can run as fast as a racehorse. Quick jerky movements by humans can trigger an attack. Climbing a tree is no assurance of safety because black bears climb well.

6. If you are charged, attempt to stand your ground. Black bears may be frightened off by acting aggressively toward the animal. Do not play dead if a black bear is stalking you or considers you as prey. Use sticks, rocks, frying pans, or whatever is available to frighten the animal away, but do not hassle a bear unnecessarily with noise because this may trigger an attack.

7. As a last resort in the event of bear attack, resistance is usually useless, but a few victims have survived by striking an attacking bear directly in the nose. Bears are an important part of the ecosystem and are worthy of continued protection. For many people, seeing a bear is very exciting and they would not want to eradicate them from our campus. Our campus community is dedicated to the protection of all wildlife, with full regard given to public safety. With your co-operation, bears and people can co-exist, but only if bears are respected as potentially dangerous wild animals, and people act responsibly for their own safety and the safety of others. Problem bears are not born, they are created.

Going on a bike ride or skateboarding? Do you have a helmet? WWC Outdoor Programs now has helmets that can be checked out by students for free during crew hours.  This initiative is geared towards increasing awareness and education about brain injuries on and providing an incentive for students to wear helmets. Stay tuned. Public Safety and the Work Program Office will also be getting sets of helmets that will be available to check out soon.

For more information or questions contact Maddy Dillon, mdillon@warren-wilson.edu

From the publisher: Stories from across North America of contemporary church leaders, parishioners and religious activists who are working to define a new environmental movement, where honoring the Creator means protecting the planet.

Sacred Acts documents the diverse actions taken by churches to address climate change through stewardship, advocacy, spirituality and justice. Contributions from leading Christian voices such as Norman Wirzba and the Reverend Canon Sally Bingham detail the concrete work of faith communities such as:

Englewood Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN, where parishioners have enhanced food security by sharing canning and food preservation skills in the church kitchen

Georgia’s Interfaith Power & Light, which has used federal stimulus funds to weatherize congregations, reduce utility bills and cut carbon emissions

Earth Ministry, where people of faith spearheaded the movement to pass state legislation to make Washington State a coal-free state.

Sacred Acts shows that churches can play a critical role in confronting climate change – perhaps the greatest moral imperative of our time. This timely collection will inspire individuals and congregations to act in good faith to help protect Earth’s climate.

From The Physics Photo of the Week for April 13, 2012:
Occasionally cirrus clouds show long tails as this photo taken near sunset (5:47 pm) on November 11, 2011 so vividly illustrates.

Cirrus clouds consist of ice crystals and often give rise to halos around the Sun or Moon shown in last week’s Physics Photo. In this case the ice crystals are forming in supersaturated water vapor near the tops of the clouds. The condensing of water vapor into ice is referred to as “glaciating” in meteorology. Because the air is often supersaturated with water vapor way below the freezing point of water, the resulting ice crystals grow rapidly and begin to fall due to gravity. In the case of these clouds, the wind at the lower levels blows in a different direction than the wind at the tops of the clouds. Thus the falling ice crystals are carried laterally for considerable distance before they eventually evaporate. Hence the long tails streaming towards the southeast.

The same phenomenon occurred about 3 weeks later (Dec. 3, 2011) shown in the mid-afternoon photo (below), except the precipitating ice crystals are being blown to the north and eventually disappearing as they evaporate before falling to the ground.

The mid-afternoon event provided a rare opportunity to capture the motion of the cirrus tails to prove the hypothesis of the wind distortion of the clouds. With the camera set to take a photo every 10 seconds, an animation was created. However, the clouds are traveling away from the observer due to the wind velocities at the higher elevations. The animation had to “catch-up” to the traveling clouds. By anchoring the alignment of successive images on some relatively permanent features of the cloud “roots” at their tops, we were able to compose the animation shown below. In the animation we can clearly see the tails blowing towards the north (left) due to the lower altitude winds blowing toward the north – a different direction from the wind at the tops of the clouds. Thus the “comma-like” formations are the result of wind shear at high elevations.

The animation concentrates on the clouds in the left-center of the full-frame photo. The animation is played back at about 20 frames/sec – a speed-up factor of about 200 from the original 10 sec between images.

Physics Photo of the Week is published weekly during the academic year on Fridays by the Warren Wilson College Physics Department. These photos feature interesting phenomena in the world around us. Students, faculty, and others are invited to submit digital (or film) photographs for publication and explanation. Atmospheric phenomena are especially welcome. Please send any photos to dcollins@warren-wilson.edu.

All photos and discussions are copyright by Donald Collins or by the person credited for the photo and/or discussion. These photos and discussions may be used for private individual use or educational use. Any commercial use without written permission of the photoprovider is forbidden.

Click here to see the Physics Photo of the Week Archive.

Product selection is based on availability and prices reflect the 15% Warren Wilson discount. Stop by the bookstore for a complete price list and to view the current selection.

Prospective students will be able to meet faculty, staff and current students; tour the campus; learn more about the academic program, the Warren Wilson College Triad and financial aid; and have an admission interview. Open House visitors also are invited to enjoy lunch as guests of the college.

For more information or to make reservations, call the admission office at 828-771-2021 or 800-934-3536, or e-mail visit@warren-wilson.edu. You also can register online by clicking here.

More national media coverage of Warren Wilson in April can be found in The New York Times and in The Chronicle of Higher Education. And from May, here are two more NYT pieces featuring a Warren Wilson student and faculty member.