This summer, despite a grueling schedule, I have my 18-year-old goddaughter staying with me. She is in Baltimore as a layover between graduating from Rogers High School in Toledo, Ohio and beginning the pre-med program at Xavier University in Louisiana next month. It goes without saying that not only do I love my goddaughter with every breath I have; I am immensely proud of her and want this experience to be a springboard to the life she wants.
I remember what it were like to be 18. Do you? Most of our mistakes were in front of us. Life was almost ALL about potential. We had not really accomplished anything yet, but we believed we could. We were young, full of energy, vision, desire and passion. We were invincible – even in our haze of youthful ignorance – and the world was ours.
On the flipside, I am preparing to go to my 20th high school reunion at the end of this month and have talked to several of my former classmates. Some have not talked about the jobs they have, the kids they have been blessed with or the things they have been able to see – but, in retrospect, what didn’t they finish, failed to follow through on and just outright quit. One friend in particular, who I remember to be an incredibly optimistic high school graduate, said “What is the point of even going back to finish what he had quit at this stage? I don’t even need it anymore.” And I began to think, while he may be right, he doesn’t need to go back.
Who could he become if he would just start what he had given up on, let alone finish? How could we all be transformed, for that matter, by realizing that it is not too late, not to go back, but restart and move forward?
Read more at blackamericaweb.com
