“What does it mean to live? The question is a sharp blade that pricks at my skin every day, beggin' for an acceptable answer.

The answer I arrived at is that to live is to suffer. It’s undeniable. The sooner you come to accept this fact with a genuine smile on your face, the sooner you’ll take full responsibility of your own life and that of others.

Then, from there, you’ll find meanin', purpose, and maybe happiness.

Obstacles and walls start becoming things you look forward to. Every ounce of pain and sufferin' that life dishes at you adds to your determination and will to succeed. The difference between me and my father is that I refuse to become jaded by this pain. I refuse to become some miserable, unfeelin' knuckle head that sucked the life out of everyone around him. I’m sure you can all relate in some way. Don’t let other people’s doubts and their lack of vision and hope, push you off your path. You must stand up…step up and take control even when everyone else in your life is afraid to do so.

After all this is what it means to move forward, to create a new world, to become better than we are.

The trainin' you underwent, the hardships you’ve endured, will undoubtedly illuminate your way forward. You aren’t just a bunch of wishy washy salvagers out to find their next meal. You are the pioneers that seek out the relics of the past to pave the road to the future.

With that, I wish you the best of luck out there, Excavators.

Humanity depends on it.” –Graduation speech at the Institute of Excavation