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Rafe Gaughan '18 – Baccalaureate Speaker


“The Aha Moment”
We all have these epiphany moments at some point in our lives and in high school we may have many of them, where we want to go to college, what career we want to pursue, or even finding your passion like a sport, community service, or other activity. My biggest "aha" moment throughout high school was when I finally figured out why 6 was afraid of 7.

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

The classic joke that everyone has heard so many times.

It was one of those situations where young Rafie didn't understand the joke but everyone back in kindergarten thought it was hilarious so I am obviously going to laugh along. Throughout the years I went through dozens of understandings in my head of why 6 was afraid of 7, yes there's more than one, but I came up with one that made the most sense to me and I thought I knew why 6 was afraid of 7 but I didn't think it was that funny. So for years every time I heard that joke I faked a laugh until I figured out the most complicated joke I had ever heard and I genuinely laughed at it for the first time.

Oh and this all happened a couple months ago.

I figured it out because I actually read the punchline in words and it clicked. The classic "ohhhhh" moment from your slow friend when they finally figure out a joke. 6 is afraid of 7 because 7 "ate" 9. "Ate" being spelled out "A. T. E.". I'll use it in a sentence for you: "John ate a bagel this morning."

Anyone else just figuring it out for the first time?? ... nope. Alright I guess it's just me.

So why did I think that 6 was afraid of 7 for 18 years? I thought that 6 was afraid of 7, because 7,8,9. By 7,8,9. I thought that 6 was all by himself and 7 had two of his buddies, 8 and 9, right behind him backing 7 up. So 6 wouldn't wanna mess with 7 because if you mess with 7 you're also messing with 8 and 9.

If you know me then you know that sometimes I interpret things differently than others. Some people would call that misunderstanding but I'm going to call it thinking outside of the box. Thinking outside of the box is fine but you have to make sure that you understand the basic concept first. Remember to ask for help when you need it.

If you don't understand something, ask. If you don't get a joke or don't think it is funny, don't laugh. If you don't feel comfortable about something or someone else's ideas, speak up. Don't follow the crowd and let someone else make decisions for you; "you do you".

We have to remember that the only person who controls us, knows us the best, who always has our best interest at heart but also knows what our heart wants, is ourselves. We have to learn to stand up for ourselves because one day there won't be anyone to back us up.

We have to stand up for our dreams as well. Whatever your dream is never give up on it, embrace it right now because this is the time in our lives where we have the most opportunities and we can take the most risks. We don't have a family of our own, we don't have a house or a job that we are scared to lose. We have a very short amount of time to drop the few things we have and chase our dreams 100%. When the timing is right, whenever that may be, go for it because at the end of the day you can say you followed your dreams; whether it worked out or it didn't, you made that happen, no one else can take credit for it, and if you messed up you can't blame anyone else but yourself.

Look no further than "that one blond kid", Jeremiah Davis. Jeremiah Davis is a photographer/ videographer who is popular on social media and has worked with some big names like Uber, Nike, and Justin Bieber. On March 6th that walking legend came to Berwick and blessed us with his presence and told us to follow our dreams. As much as I didn't like him, his style, and how he bragged about how he lives every day like its the weekend, I still respect his grind and the idea behind his success. He went after his dream hard and he wasn't going to give up, begging everyone and anyone to work with him until he flipped the tables and had people asking him to work for them.

He taught me that when you follow your dreams the best case scenario is you make it big and you are hanging out with Justin Bieber on a Tuesday but it feels like a Saturday, worst is it doesn't work out and you end up with Jeremiah Davis' hair.

My last request is for you guys to live in the moment. We have less than 24 hours to be students at Berwick Academy until we walk across that stage tomorrow and become alumni. Enjoy it, enjoy right now, enjoy tomorrow because it only happens once. We would not be the same people we are today if it wasn't for Berwick. We are prepared to take that next step after high school, we are ready to hop on the merry go round of life, whether that is college, work, hockey, or any other adventure, we are going to do great things and I can't wait to see what we do. I know for sure that I am only the person I am today because of Berwick and I am glad I was able to spend my last 4 years here with all of you.

I want to thank the boys, my family, coaches, teachers, college counselors, the Sage dining staff, the grounds crew and everyone in this community for giving me all these opportunities and making Berwick so special.

And thank you, the class of 2018, for pushing me in the classroom, being my friends, and making me a better person every day. Lets not forget where we came from.
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Berwick Academy

31 Academy Street
South Berwick, Maine 03908

Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
Berwick Academy, situated on an 80-acre campus just over one hour north of Boston, serves 520 students, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 and Postgraduates. Berwick students are from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and several countries. Deeply committed to its mission of promoting virtue and useful knowledge, Berwick Academy empowers students to be creative and bold. Berwick strives to graduate alumni who shape their own learning, take risks, ask thoughtful questions, and come to understand and celebrate their authentic selves.

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