Wearing my black gown, square cap and a light blue hood, which is meant to symbolize the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (to make it different from two other graduate schools and a mass of undergraduates), I received my MA degree in anthropology. This rainy day Simon and Uli were my family. And Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for the "New York Times" and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, gave the commencement speech in the gymnasium, filled with hundreds or thousands. He spoke of how he became a journalist and what it means to be a good one. In 1975 he graduated from Brandeis, as I did today. He finished his captivating talk with a quote from Mark Twain, abused many times, but very powerful in his mouth: "Work as if you don't need the money, Dance like nobody’s watching, Love like you’ve never been hurt. Live like it’s heaven on earth." I must have forgotten the order and probably some lines, but the simple truth of these words affected me. I would be ready to go out there and do good deeds for the well-being of humanity. But for me it's not over yet. Next September I will be back here, so that in some years to graduate finally. But can I wait? I already have an idea of organizing a symposium on the freedom of speech next Spring at Brandeis, were Orhan Pamuk and Gary Kasparov would be among the speakers, as would some human rights and social justice activists. But now... California, here I come!

Ooo
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