The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Editorials

June 5, 2009

Pack a big lunch, grads, for it’s time to hit the road

The Back Porch column

By Nerissa Young

To the Class of 2009: Congratulations! It’s your turn.

I look into your young faces and worry about the scary world you are entering. Your confidence and optimism get me out of bed every morning to work with you, so I feel guilty for being less than confident and optimistic as we send you into that “real world” we kept telling you about.

Then I see what looks like a glint of fear in your eyes. I hug you, tell your parents how much I enjoyed having you in class, urge you to go slay your dragons, pat you on the back and turn you loose — for the last time.

It’s OK to be scared. We should probably tell you that, but we don’t. Your parents are scared, too.

Up to this point, they have spent their lives protecting you. When you move that tassel from right to left, they realize they can’t do that any more.

It’s OK to still need your parents.

Good parents spend their lives trying to work their way out of the job. But if they are good parents, they never will because you will always seek their advice and counsel.

It’s OK to not know exactly what you’re going to do the rest of your life.

That 60 or 70 years looks like a long horizon when you’re wearing that cap and gown, but you will wake up one day and think, “My gosh! I’m in my 40s. Where did it go?”

The wonder of life is not knowing exactly what will happen next.

Every fork in the road is an opportunity to change course while not being able to see the final destination or know how that choice may change the destination. Don’t be afraid to follow an unknown road.

Sometimes it brings you right back home — right where you are supposed to be. And sometimes the side attractions on that road show you the way home.

Chase your dreams with the enthusiasm you would chase someone who just stole your wallet. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.

Don’t let your parents, your teachers or your friends steal your dreams. Too many young people in West Virginia grow up thinking they can’t because they are from West Virginia. Go anywhere in this world. I guarantee you will find someone from West Virginia who could and did.

If you achieve your dreams, take time to thank those who helped along the way.

Share those dreams with the next generation. Just as they can learn to be defeated, they can learn how to dream.

Remember that dreams change. People and circumstances can change you and your dreams.

That’s OK. Just don’t stop dreaming.

For when you give up that hope of the human spirit, you have stopped living even though it might be years before loved ones put you in the grave.

Finally, don’t worry if you don’t have all the right answers.

It’s more important to have the right questions — and to keep asking them.

May you live with your whole heart all the time. May you find contentment wherever your path leads, whether it is around the world or to the edge of your hometown.

Call your parents at least every other day.

Visit your teachers when you can.

God speed.

— Young is a Register-Herald columnist. E-mail: ynerissa@verizon.net.

© 2009 by Nerissa Young

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