THE VERDICT: better than last year's graduation story, I think it's safe to say. However, not as good as the story another reporter wrote about a different ceremony. I wouldn't even mention it — one good piece of advice I've heard in the past is "Don't compare yourself to other people, compare yourself to yourself" — if not for the fact that there were a few similarities in content. I probably wouldn't have led with that angle anyway, but it was annoying when my editor gave me a copy of his story to give me some general ideas, only to think "Oh wait, I can't do this, he already did!"