Graduation indicates the ending of one season and the beginning of another or suggests a starting point. It would help if you viewed today as a starting point that where you are today is the first step of many.
Often we attend graduations and the exemplary students give wonderfully seasoned speeches while many of us sit and ponder the uncertainty of life. What will I become? What will I do? Am I going in the right direction? Can I order Motivation, and will it be delivered in two days?
To the graduates who enlisted in the military, entered the workforce, enrolled in College, or are still trying to figure it out, you have a solid foundation to build a fascinating life. While the path to success is varied and broad, each traveler must possess discipline and determination. Every idea, every venture and every endeavor requires discipline and determination. While discovering who you are, incorporate measurable goals to turn your potential into momentum.
I recently spoke at Springfield International Charter School’s graduation, where I am the Chair of the Board of Trustees. I encouraged the graduates to keep trying. Twenty-five years ago, I graduated from Georgetown High School in Georgetown, South Carolina. I wish I could write with great pompousness that I graduated at the top of my class or even the middle, but I graduated with a 2.5 grade point average. I possessed great potential but operated with little implementation. I did not have it all figured out, but through discipline and determination, I kept trying, and twenty-five years later, I signed and awarded diplomas to the graduating class.
Nikita Gill writes:
The bird building her home on your windowsill has had every nest destroyed before. The spider that is delicately weaving a silken masterpiece has had every single thread broken before. And despite it all, they try again.
As you grow in the experience of trying, you will become well acquainted with words that describe life:
● Failure and Success
● Trials and Triumphs
● Discouragement and Encouragement
● Starting Now and Starting Over
You will grapple with the temptation to halt movement, to abandon dreaming, and to retard acceleration because certain seasons and periods of life will yield no fruit, and the most significant takeaway is a lesson learned. In those experiences, keep trying.
You have great potential but do not wait on an external force to create motion. Knowing the voice within to run your race and live your own life would be best. You may encounter the loudness of naysayers or the echo of discouragement ruminating in your head. When things are prone to become difficult, and you want to shrink back, let me add a word of encouragement, Keep Trying!
Congratulations to the 2023 Graduates! Keep Trying! ■