verge (vʉrj)
noun
the edge, brink, or margin (of something): also used figuratively the verge of the forest, on the verge of hysteria

verg′·ing
to tend or incline (to or toward)
to be in the process of change or transition into something else; pass gradually (into) dawn verging into daylight




Sunday, June 6, 2010

Dear Class of 2010


xoxo
Dear Class of 2010,

I find myself trying to catch my breath around you.  It seems as though you've taken it from me with your sudden arrival on the Launch Pad. How in the world did you get here so fast?  Weren't you just learning to ride your bikes a few days ago? Just the other week you were trying out cursive writing and waiting to see the orthodontist for the first time. And I could have sworn that it was only a few months ago that we were turning over the keys to the washer and dryer for you to take on spins of your own. It seems like we've been watching you grow up with the clicker on fast forward, the end of this chapter abruptly upon us while we puzzle over how we zipped through your childhood so fast.

You are the Instant Generation. You grew up with click-of-the-mouse spontaneity and convenience, the world literally at your fingertips.  Instant food and meals.  Instant internet from anywhere, anytime. You were born prewired for wi-fi. Instant big money.  Instant big loss. Instant "Breaking News" reports.  Instant shopping.  Instant downloads.  Instant banking. Instant reruns. Velcro! Instant lockdowns. Flash mobs. Flash floods. Flash drives. Instant photo developing. With GPS, instant directions to anywhere. Instant messaging. Instant proofreading.  Instant calculations. Instant fame. Instant sex. Instant election results.  And not only do you have all these things at your busy fingertips, but you have become multi-taskers in a way that no previous generation has ever fathomed or experienced. You text, chat, talk, poke, like, unlike, tweet and navigate data bases while listening to your mp3s, and you can do all at the same time. Even more remarkable is that you do these things while non-chalantly zig-zagging between countries and continents, the world made smaller and closer than ever before.  And yet this leg of your journey which began over 6570 days ago, seems to have suddenly culminated in a single point, in a single flash, in a single instant. So many days gone by so fast...

I have a message for you as you leave this nest you've known as home. I'm not a philosopher or an academic. I'm a mom--your mom. And I want you to hear me, so I figured I'd deliver it in the way I know you'll get the message.

Messages. OK.
New text message OK
Recent Contacts OK
OK

Class,
We hvnt left the wrld n very gd cndition 4 u. But u, u brng a frsh pair of eyes. U no wht u cn do. U have the tech skllz 2 nt only repar the earth, but 2 restore it 4 all life. But it isnt gng 2 b technlgy skillz tht heal the wrld.  It will take cmpassn.  B cmpassnate. & cmpassn cn only come frm eye2eye, voice2voice, touch2touch contact.   Cmpssn cn only come frm ur <3, nt frm ur cell. Dont just txt xoxo & ilys 2 ur bffl; give xxoo 4 real, & say ILY OUTLOUD 2 each othr & the earth we share. tht dsnt come instnly. Luv takes time. Jst rmembr that, k? & plz tcoy.  & dnt 4get 2 call ur mom.  Or send txt whn u gt there.

xoxo ILY <3
Mom
; )
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2 comments:

  1. Like. Like Like Like.

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  2. I wonder if having such an instant life makes time go faster. I am Class of 2012. Did time go this fast for you?

    ReplyDelete