Unit 2: Selection Vocabulary 1

Don’t tell! they’d advertise—you know!

How dreary—to be—Somebody!

How public—like a Frog—
To tell one’s name—the livelong June—
To an admiring Bog!

How public—like a Frog—
To tell one’s name—the livelong June—
To an admiring Bog!

I am the great-granddaughter of Fraser Robinson, an illiterate houseboy who taught himself to read and became an entrepreneur, selling newspapers and shoes.

Because while I might have grown up across the country, and while my journey may be a bit different than yours, when I learned about all of you, it was clear to me that our stories are connected, and that your values—the values that infuse this school—are the very same values that my parents handed down to me.

I learned integrity from my parents—that living a good life is not about being wealthy or powerful, it’s about being honest and doing what you say you’re going to do. It’s about how you act when no one is watching, and whether you’re the same person on the outside as you are on the inside.

And finally, my parents—especially my dad—taught me about perseverance. See, my dad had been an athlete his whole life, a swimmer and a boxer. But if he was frustrated or disappointed by his illness, he never let on.

As we all know, this school was founded as part of a deliberate, systematic effort to extinguish your culture; to literally annihilate who you were and what you believed in.

And so many of you have already stepped up to implement your projects in your communities, hosting a fun run to raise awareness about domestic violence and diabetes, leading a traditional foods cooking demonstration, supporting seniors and teen parents, and doing so much more.