Today
was one that made me think about my own experiences and left me in a state of slight
disbelief. We spent a good part of the afternoon at a family get together to
celebrate the graduation of a cousin. Oddly enough, the timing worked out
almost perfectly and we were all ready to go and out the door with more than enough
time to make it down the highway to the party. Given that we left the same time
our son usually eats, this was a surprise to both of us.
The
party itself was great. Not only was it nice to celebrate this milestone in
life but it was also an opportunity to see a lot of family members that we had
not had a chance to speak with since the bris. Things have changed quite a bit
since then and the change of pace was welcomed. And, I must say, these people
sure know how to throw a party.
One
of the things that I couldn’t help but think about was the fact that this year
marks 15 years since I had the same kind of celebration. I just can’t believe
that it has been that long even though there are many days when it seems like
an entire lifetime has passed since I celebrated my graduation along with my
siblings (each of them graduated from college the same year). When reflecting
on this, there are so many family members that I am friendly with now that I
wish I had known better then.
Of
course, there are a lot of things that I wish was different about that time in
my life. The changes in attitude, perspective, motivation, and experience are staggering
when considering my life now compared to my personality immediately after high
school. There is a reason why I ended up on the 5 year college program. Thankfully,
the one whom we were celebrating today seem to have their head on right and has
the motivation to succeed.
When
asked to write something to the graduate today there was no way that I was
going to say something similar to that above. There really isn’t a need for
that. All I could say was to enjoy each day (individually and as a whole), work hard, and take advantage of
all the opportunities and experiences that come your way during this time in
your life. After all, you may not know exactly where they are going to take you
but so long as you keep your head on straight, they will all provide you with a
life that is full, vibrant, and makes you excited every day to get out of bed
in the morning.
Kind
of wish that I had heeded my own advice as a teenager but, in the end, it may
have not been a perfect ride so far but I wouldn’t change any of it. Okay,
maybe one or two or twelve things but all those experiences made me who I am
now and I am pretty darn happy with that. Some of you may not be but I am
feeling really good about the way things have turned out.
So,
I leave you with this clichéd question to think about (and possibly respond
below): Knowing what you do know, the experiences that you have had, and the
mistakes that you made, what advice would you give to yourself when you
graduated high school?
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