A Reminder for my Graduates
If you've ever been a student in my class, you know there are certain phrases that are staples in my room:
Your voices matter. Your opinions matter.
Happy (insert day of the week)!
(Every Friday) Happy weekend! Make good choices!
There are many choices I wish I had considered in college. I wish I had made the choice to find out more about the opportunities available to me on campus. I didn't take the time to research Christian groups to join, so I missed opportunities to fellowship with like-minded students and make a difference in my community through services projects. I didn't know there was a clogging team on campus until the end of my sophomore year, so I missed two years of doing something I loved because I didn't choose to research. I wish I had looked into the possibility of studying abroad. I made assumptions about the program and didn't even look into it because I figured it would be too expensive. Turns out, it isn't much more expensive than a semester on campus. As a result of these assumptions, I missed opportunities to make a difference, to dance, and to travel and be exposed to a new cultures because I chose to be lazy. There are many other choices that I would have made differently if afforded the opportunity to go back, but, my students, I hope you can learn from my mistakes and be proactive in your choosing.
Make good choices. While not every student needs to hear this, like it or not, many do. Often adults assume that teenagers think (at least a little) before acting, but often they don't truly think their decisions out. I know I'm supposed to give my students a thorough education on literature and writing, and I truly hope I do. But if there's one big-picture idea I want them to leave my class with, it's live with purpose. I want you to live with purpose.
Now, as you former students embark on this new adventure of college, military, and workforce, I want you to remember to do everything with purpose. Make good, sound choices that have been well-thought out. Make choices wherein you know, understand, and are willing to accept the consequences that may accompany those choices. Make choices that will guide you to be decent, kind, and compassionate human beings. Make choices that will lead you to be good and productive citizens.
In a world where social media has taken from many young people the ability to rationalize and internalize even the smallest emotion, I want you to choose to feel. Choose to imagine yourself in the position of someone different from you: someone who may not have had the advantages and opportunities you have had; someone who may not receive the the love and care you do; someone who has been raised immersed in a different culture from yours. Take the time to really get to know people who are different from you so you can educate your humanity. At the end of the day, we are all part of the same species, and in order to effect the changes in our society that are so desperately needed, we have to be able to connect with humans of all walks.
It takes a lot more energy to be angry, mean, and disengaged than it does to smile, be kind, and give a helping hand. Fight the urge to hate and replace it with the joy that accompanies showing kindness to others, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Being kind, being compassionate, being human will always make your day better, and it will likely improve the day of someone else, too.
Good luck to you, my young men and women, heading out into this new-found independence. You're awesome. You're capable. You're ready.
Go live with purpose. Go do your big things. And make good choices.
<3
Your voices matter. Your opinions matter.
Happy (insert day of the week)!
(Every Friday) Happy weekend! Make good choices!
There are many choices I wish I had considered in college. I wish I had made the choice to find out more about the opportunities available to me on campus. I didn't take the time to research Christian groups to join, so I missed opportunities to fellowship with like-minded students and make a difference in my community through services projects. I didn't know there was a clogging team on campus until the end of my sophomore year, so I missed two years of doing something I loved because I didn't choose to research. I wish I had looked into the possibility of studying abroad. I made assumptions about the program and didn't even look into it because I figured it would be too expensive. Turns out, it isn't much more expensive than a semester on campus. As a result of these assumptions, I missed opportunities to make a difference, to dance, and to travel and be exposed to a new cultures because I chose to be lazy. There are many other choices that I would have made differently if afforded the opportunity to go back, but, my students, I hope you can learn from my mistakes and be proactive in your choosing.
Make good choices. While not every student needs to hear this, like it or not, many do. Often adults assume that teenagers think (at least a little) before acting, but often they don't truly think their decisions out. I know I'm supposed to give my students a thorough education on literature and writing, and I truly hope I do. But if there's one big-picture idea I want them to leave my class with, it's live with purpose. I want you to live with purpose.
Now, as you former students embark on this new adventure of college, military, and workforce, I want you to remember to do everything with purpose. Make good, sound choices that have been well-thought out. Make choices wherein you know, understand, and are willing to accept the consequences that may accompany those choices. Make choices that will guide you to be decent, kind, and compassionate human beings. Make choices that will lead you to be good and productive citizens.
In a world where social media has taken from many young people the ability to rationalize and internalize even the smallest emotion, I want you to choose to feel. Choose to imagine yourself in the position of someone different from you: someone who may not have had the advantages and opportunities you have had; someone who may not receive the the love and care you do; someone who has been raised immersed in a different culture from yours. Take the time to really get to know people who are different from you so you can educate your humanity. At the end of the day, we are all part of the same species, and in order to effect the changes in our society that are so desperately needed, we have to be able to connect with humans of all walks.
It takes a lot more energy to be angry, mean, and disengaged than it does to smile, be kind, and give a helping hand. Fight the urge to hate and replace it with the joy that accompanies showing kindness to others, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Being kind, being compassionate, being human will always make your day better, and it will likely improve the day of someone else, too.
Good luck to you, my young men and women, heading out into this new-found independence. You're awesome. You're capable. You're ready.
Go live with purpose. Go do your big things. And make good choices.
<3
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