I just read the first paragraph of A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, a book in which George Saunders presents and unpacks short stories “in which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life.” The opening paragraph is so good that I stopped reading and immediately shared it with some of my colleagues, a former student, and now all of you. May you have someone in your life committed to helping you achieve your iconic space, to helping you become defiantly and joyfully yourself.