MONMOUTH -- Garrison Beck had one final question for his 72 classmates who were in the graduating class of Monmouth Academy.

Beck, an honor essayist, told his classmates during commencement exercises on Sunday that after pestering them with questions "all these years" about fundraisers and events, he had one last question: "What have we learned?"

"Have we learned that the atmosphere does not hold moisture, or that Shakespeare's works teach us about human nature? Beck said. "Maybe we've learn that Mr. Deblois' sweater-vests can become a new fashion statement, or possibly that Lindsey will always have a question. Whatever we might know now, there is something that I have learned over these four years that I believe is more important than anything that can be taught in a classroom. I have learned to try and always enjoy life, stay positive and most importantly, be happy."

He said many people today who are in school or the workforce are not satisfied with some aspect of their lives. Beck said he believes everyone has the ability to change something that would make life even more enjoyable.

"I myself have had times where I feel like the happiest person on earth, and others where it seems I'm at the bottom of the deepest pit," he said. "I know what can be gained by simply changing the outlook we have on life. For those of us going on to college and meeting new people, we need to surround ourselves with others who make us laugh and smile. This alone can have an enormous impact on the manner in which we carry ourselves and even in the way in which we view the college we will be attending."

About 800 people attended the graduating ceremony that marked the end of the seniors' high school years. Every seat in the gymnasium was filled.

Three other honor essayists spoke besides Beck, a high-honor student who will be attending Colby College in the fall.

Stephen Brush congratulated the class for 12 years of hard, laboring work. He said friends, family and teachers were all proud of the "fine young men and women that sit before them today."

"For 12 years we've had the standard of success set before us," Brush said. "Often it has been defined by how well we do with our grades. It has also been defined by what we have achieved. In fact, Merriam-Webster defines success as 'the attainment of wealth, position, honors or the like.' However, I want to offer you a new definition."

He said success cannot and must not be defined by wealth, possessions, and positions. He said true success is defined as that which brings you the greatest and longest lasting joy.

"So what brings us the greatest and longest lasting joy?" he said. "In my encounters and personal experiences, it has only been one thing -- love. Not love as the world defines it, but rather as author J. Budziszewski puts it, 'Love is not a feeling. Love is a commitment of the will to the true good of another person.' Simply put, in order to gain success we must love, and we love by living beyond self for the sake of others."

During the festivities, graduates, in their white and maroon gowns, presented their parents with flowers for helping them through their academic careers and life's challenges. "To our parents from the graduating class,"

Kerstin Grenier said. "Today is a day of remembrance. From us to you, carnations for fathers and roses for our mothers."

Graduating seniors received more than 50 awards and scholarships for excellence in athletics and academics.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com