At the beginning of the academic year, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, addressed the class of 2011, sharing with them a few ideas for making the most of their last year as Fordham undergraduates. Here are his suggestions.
2. Take your best friend to dinner and pick up the tab.
3. Take in a game at Yankee Stadium.
4. Eat in an ethnic restaurant that serves food you’ve never eaten.
5. Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry.
6. Walk on the promende on Roosevelt Island or the Esplanade at the Battery—after sundown—with the love of your life.
7. Take a walk through the financial district and through Times Square before 11 on a Sunday morning so you get a sense of the place.
8. Volunteer to help.
9. Go to a Fordham basketball game and make the rafters shake with your cheers.
10. Prepare for the future by doing the following:
a. Make a retreat.
b. Develop a habit of giving to others.
c. Prepare for the job interview.
d. See the Atlantic and visit the Hudson Valley so that your heart knows what wonder is all about.
e. Pray at Ground Zero, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and at the Jesuit cemetery on the Rose Hill campus so that you know what real prayer is.
f. Thank your favorite teacher for all he or she has done for you.
Gratitude is a large part of this, and one of the most Ignatian of all things. To become a virtuoso at gratitude, develop a habit of reflection: experience, reflection, gratitude, praise should be the rhythm of your life. As the Country Priest observed: All is grace. Grace is everywhere. Do it. Live in it.
