Moving On Up

This is an important week for the Jefferson County High School Class of 2015. Most of us can remember when we, ourselves, were preparing to go out into the world. It was an exciting and scary time. Poised on the edge of what has always been known and what could and will be. For some, it may have been several decades since that day that we crossed the stage and walked out into life. But, as most of us have discovered along the way, time changes but people really don’t. Believe me-under the excitement and jubilation these newly minted adults have some trepidation about what awaits in beyond the Jefferson County line. Some have big plans but big plans come with big expectations and every large leap comes with the risk of a fall. And those of us who have lived on the planet more than two decades know that they will, indeed, fall.

It is inevitable: we all fall at some time or another. It is in the standing back up that we learn what we are truly made of. Some of us rise slowly and others seem to bounce like rubber. But it is not so much the speed with which we rise that is a testament to our strength. It is the grace with which we rise. Did we climb on the backs of others or did we stand on our own? I hope that we have taught our children learn from their mistakes. To know that life owes us nothing but the wonderful opportunity to exist and hopefully do better every day than we did the day before. And when we fall short of that goal, to blame only ourselves. To take stock, improve and, ultimately, forgive our mistakes. Because it is impossible to climb to the top of the mountain carrying the baggage of the past on your shoulders.

To the Class of 2015, may you climb high. Stand tall and be proud. And as so many great people have said – never give up!