Commencement Address Answers “When Will It Get Easier?”

Linda Fisher Thornton speaking at the University of Richmond SPCS Commencement

By Linda Fisher Thornton

When I was asked by The University of Richmond SPCS to give a Commencement address, I did what most anyone would do – I struggled. I struggled to choose a topic, and struggled to write the remarks on a short deadline.

After watching some famous people’s Commencement speeches it appeared to me that this struggle was universal. The honor of being asked to give a Commencement speech came with the inevitable euphoria, and then the dread of bearing the pressure of sharing something inspiring and befitting the occasion.

“Three days before these remarks were due to the University, I scrapped what I had written and started over. I was being asked to impart inspiring wisdom to graduates in three minutes or less, and since my courses take students into the realms of paradox and systems thinking, this three-minute challenge was clearly going to be one of those life tests we call “growth opportunities.”
Linda Fisher Thornton, 2022 University of Richmond SPCS Commencement Address

I decided to look at this inevitable struggle through the lens of human development. The University of Richmond published my address, which answers a question we all have had, “When is life going to get easier?” Click the program image below for the full text of the address.