Graduatons

Over the next couple of weeks we will attend multiple graduations with thousands of family and friends watching their son or daughter walk down an isle with a cap and gown. I will have listened to numerous valedictorians that will be great and to the point and then there will be some older administration person who will talk too long and be boring. Yet, this is what makes graduations a rite of passage and tradition.

I know that all of my group that will graduation this year from 8^th grade through college will represent for most families the first to graduate from high school and especially college. I know that many today will bash our educational system and say that we are back in the dark ages when it comes to the level of education and expectations. I know that for most of kids who are now adults that they have faced difficult obstacles and have chosen to step up and not allow the influence of the slackers around them to stop them from being achievers.

My wife at times makes fun of 8^th grade graduations but I am beginning to see that it is so important to acknowledge the accomplishments of everyone. It is too easy to be someone that always is quick to judge or be negative. I know that too many of my kids and teens have been told that they aren’t too smart and they have been labeled under achievers or dumb. I what to be able to be a positive influence and motivator for a teen or little kid to keep trying and realize that life is full of set backs and that success doesn’t happen without failure.

As we paint six houses today with 150 volunteers I will be so excited to see the end result of the many hands that will have spent 2 hours painting and know that working together can produce huge results. I want my graduates to discover the same lesson in life. It’s not about you or me but about seeing a community grow and become healthier which translates into everyone from grandmas to the little baby understanding the real meaning and purpose of life.

I’m so proud of our graduates because they represent the hope of the future for many families. I know that finishing high school is huge in my neighborhood. I know that finishing your A.A. is an amazing accomplishment and that going to ASU and finishing your B.A. will be a first for all of these families.  Congratulations!!!!