Dear Seniors,By JEFF LUND
June 01, 2019
(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - I know I said that I wanted it to rain on your Senior Skip Day, but I was kidding. I’m not that cynical or so literary that I thought rain on your skip day would be the perfect metaphor for the challenges you’ll encounter after you turn your tassels. Sometimes things just happen and looking too deeply for meaning will only frustrate and confuse you. Sometimes life just is. What I hope it is for you, is good. But know it’s not the responsibility of college, or your job, or your boss, the world, life, or even the government that was watching me type this column, to make you happy. (Sorry, teaching Science Fiction Literature has me all paranoid this semester). Anyway, all you’ll get in life are opportunities, and sometimes those opportunities are exactly what you don’t ask for. They have to be. We have to earn the attributes we want. Sometimes those opportunities are masked as some of the worst things you can imagine. You’ll ask questions like why... and what… and things might make you second guess your abilities or your beliefs or your faith in humanity. These are questions that have been asked forever. In those moments you must find resiliency, kindness and love just as those before you have. It hasn’t been easy, but know you are the latest in a long line of people who have faced the worst of history, and made it. Be selfish with your future. There are people out there who want to reduce you to a consumer. Who want to engineer your life for you. Don’t give into that. Don’t just be someone’s paycheck or voting bloc. Seek counsel from people you trust and be your own engineer. It’s okay to disagree with people, but listen. It will either solidify your world view, or change it. Don’t let anyone manipulate you into thinking that you’re flawed or your opinion doesn’t count. Just make sure you present it from a place of understanding, not emotion. Be with people who live those quotes you share on social media. By the way, think about your senior quote. Think about how you came to it. If you didn’t know it already, it’s not your quote. Your quote should be on the tip of your tongue and in every decision, you make. It should be obvious. It should be what you live, not what you Google. It will feel weird when you’re away from the friends you’ve known since you were freshmen, elementary school, or since you were in diapers. Change is part of life. There is no 13th grade. Grow. Never peak. Sincerely, Professor Lundsworth
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