Michael Thompson delivered the commencement speech titled, “Adopting a Life” at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts to graduates in June 2004.
An excerpt:
In my heart I know that the most important fact about my life is that I am a father, the father of two teenage children. I am, of course, proud of my professional success as a psychologist and as the author of books about the psychology of boys and the social lives of children. My lecture tours have taken me to Japan and Brazil and Bali. I’ve even been a guest on the “Oprah” show. All of that has been quite wonderful. Nothing, however, compares with the power of being a father. Even in my career as the author of books on child development, I am an “expert” whom other parents trust in part because I, too, am a parent. I’ve been listed as a “keynote speaker” in a lot of programs, but like most of the people in my audiences, whose lives are wrapped up in children, I know that being a father has been the most important role of my life, and it has changed me more than anything I have ever done. I am who I am because of being a father.
You can read the full speech here.