To A Special Young Lady- On the Occasion of Her High School Graduation

K:

Words cannot expressed how pleased I am to be a part, no matter how small, of your very important day - your graduation from high school. Your uncle reminded me last night that the day we began talking to one another, you would have been in your second month of Kindergarten. Well before we met in person, I felt like I knew you through his stories. As you grew, his stories were filled with more and more pride and joy, with humor, with sadness. Never doubt that you were one of the brightest lights in his life... his adorable, yet mischievous, never expect the ordinary, niece.

You were one of the first people to make my transition into your already well established family easier by befriending me almost from the start. I immediately took up any book you suggested so that we'd have another topic to discuss because I enjoyed your insight into the world of literature. Your insight was only matched by two others I have had the pleasure of knowing. They are your mother and your grandmother. They have instilled their passion for whatever they believe in and/or love into your life and you instill that passion into others with your thoughts, feelings, and just being. I will always treasure knowing that my beloved niece was a part of one of the most important days of my life, my wedding. You made sure I got to eat when everyone else seemed to have "forgotten" I may have been too nervous to eat. I don't think people realize how close I was to being flat out on the floor in a faint - I was really that hungry. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

I am not sure people realize how much they mean to others. Nor do I think that people realize the difference they make in the lives of others. It has been my pleasure, my joy, and my honor to call you my niece. And, with that in mind, I give you the following words of advice:

As you go forth into this next stage of your life, realize that, with every ending, there is a beginning. Although it is difficult, realize you may have to patient with those adults around you. Erma Bombeck may have put it best. She said, "Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries..." We are going to be behind you every step of the way. Through the high points. Through the low points. Realize that no matter what, we are there to laugh with - to cry with - to celebrate with - or just to bounce ideas off of. You will always be you, just as you will always be your mother's daughter, your grandparent's grandchild, Stephen's and my niece. That can never change.. nor will it ever. Might as well face it, kid. You're stuck with all of us. And I, for one, don't want to miss a second of what is to come for you. Holmes might have said it best. "Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."

Ahhh... enough of the poetic words, right? Here is my advice for your next step... college.

*First off, always remember to never stop questioning. It is as we stop questioning that we stop learning.
*An obstical, although daunting, is only something we see when we stop focusing on our goals. Most, if not all, are overcomible, if we are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
*I have stressed to students that Henry Ford was right on when he said, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't - you are right." Never give up the faith that you can. Attitude make the difference more often than not.
*Procrastination is not your friend. If a task is more than you can handle, you have to take the time to break it into something you can do. Not doing it doesn't get it done any sooner and just adds to an already growing stress level.
*Take time to learn from people you meet. I have always believed that people come into our lives for a reason and we are to take from each person what we are meant to take. I learned compassion from the homeless guy who slept by the dumpster by my dorm. No matter how miserable a day I had, he always greeted me with a smile and a positive attitude. I later found out that he had been a soldier who, after being dismissed from the military after an injury, lost his home, his wife, and his job. He decided to settle on my campus because those were the happiest moments of his life... college... and he wanted to remind others to take it and run with it. It was my graduation day (from college) that I found out that he held a doctorate in physics.
*I learned from working in the college anatomy lab that having a sense of humor can help out in any situation. When the pre-med students decide to steal the cadaviers and prop them up as spectators for a homecoming football game, you shake your head in wonder. But, secretly, you have to laugh at their creativity.
*Never be afraid to admit you're unsure of something. When offered the post as "guardian for the anatomy lab", I was highly bothered by the cadaviers. On my tour of the lab, I almost passed out cold. I did throw up in the nearest trash can. However, I did not allow my uncertainty about something to get in the way of my life. You have to either get around the uncertainty or face it head on. Not saying it will always be easy. But, in the end, it usually worth it.

On your road to the future, may you meet every fork in the road as learning experience and not an obstical in the road. The road may not be smooth at all time... but whether it be a dirt path, a gravel road, a paved road... always enjoy the travels.

All my love always.

(And to the rest of you reading it... I want everyone to know that my niece totally rocks!!!!)