Fern Ridge Review
Creswell Chronicle
Sweet Lorane Community News
June 1, 2017
By Pat Edwards
Graduation time is here again. I want to personally congratulate each of the seniors from not only Crow High School, but all local high schools, who are nearing the completion of their secondary education in order to transition to further studies in college or to set the goals that will define who they will become in their adult lives.
Looking back over my own “transition,” it was not an easy time for me. I did go to college for one year at Linfield in McMinnville. I loved the independence even though I lived in a dorm. I made long-lasting friendships, but I was still very immature and did not apply myself well to my studies. Maybe if I had made better grades, I could have earned scholarships that would have allowed me to continue after that first year. It’s one of those things that you don’t think about as a “just-barely” 18 year old. In those days, young high school graduates tended to live in the “now.” Looking to the future, in those days for girls especially, wasn’t the focus other than how it pertained to settling down to raise a family. Things are so much different now for those students who have been raised to further their education and plan a career; but, there are still those like me who are not prepared to set goals and look to the future or who are not suited for college. They must get their education from life, as I did. We make mistakes and we learn from them… or we don’t. For those who do learn from them, we are able to grow. It’s a slower process, but I believe that we can still achieve and set goals. We don’t end up with a degree in our hands, but we can take pride in setting the course for our lives that will allow us to be responsible, knowledgeable citizens and productive members of our communities.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that in order for our society to work, we cannot all be the queen bees in the hive. It takes a lot of drones and worker bees to keep the hive viable and alive. College is extremely valuable, especially now, but no high school graduate should feel that if they can’t or don’t go to college for any reason, they cannot succeed in life. There are still a lot of opportunities for growth outside of academia if you are willing to apply yourself to whatever interests, abilities and talents you possess… and that includes higher education later on – down the road – once you have figured out what it is you really want to do.
Congratulations high school grads! You’re on the threshold of the rest of your life. Whether you are heading for college or not, keep in mind that as you experience life as an adult, you may find that your interests change course. That’s as it should be, because you’ll be experiencing new things and finding new interests that you didn’t know existed. If you come out of high school believing that you want to be a welder, but take some computer or science classes that open your eyes to another career path, allow yourself to explore those other options. You are the captain of your life. You can be whoever you want to be. You just have to be willing to work for it and set goals for the course that you sail.
All Things Lorane 