Prom and Promise-
Spring brings so much promise. The world becomes alive after a long and difficult winter. Trees produce leaves, wild flowers carpet the forest and woodland floors, hosta slowly break the earth and show the first beginnings of the wonder they will produce. New life is everywhere.
One other sign of spring is prom. That magical time in a young person's life that signals an ending and a new beginning. It is a time when all the possibilities of life present themselves. With all those possibilities often comes a sense of fear. What shall I do with my life? What college should I attend? Where will I make my mark? How will I navigate all the new things in my life? It is a time when the comfortable makes way for the uncertain. Once the uncertain is comfortable, it begins all over. But, this special night is all about celebration. Those questions will find answers on another night.
Recently I received a message from a former student who is now the mom of a graduating senior. Could a group of seniors come to my house and take pictures on prom night?
We were delighted to be asked. We spent a little time making sure the yard was as pretty as it could be. How much fun it would be to see the young people all decked out in their finest. And so they came.
Cars lined our driveway. Parents, grandparents and siblings came to celebrate the night. The young women were beautiful in their long gowns. The gowns reminded me of when I was in school. They wore long gowns just as we did. The gowns were such beautiful colors-yellow, purple, blue, red. And the young men were so dashing in their tuxedos. One came in his military uniform. They were so joyful. They had dinner reservations and then off to prom. We were delighted to share this special time with them.
Next will come graduation. Then they will enter a new world. This new world will offer so many choices. I am hopeful they will each select a path that leads them to a life of discovery. In the next year each of those who graced our lawn will make decisions that will change the course of their lives. That is how it should be. One good thing about being a young adult is they get to change their minds and pursue a new career should the original idea prove to be a poor choice.
Parents want their children to know what they want to do with the rest of their lives once they enter college or a training program. I completely understand that. School costs a great deal of money. Young people need to realize this. But, it is also true that often they don't know what they are best suited to do. I was on this train when I started college. My first thought was to go into business so I took all the business courses I could take. I enjoyed them. I could be a secretary. Yes, I could do that.
Somewhere along the road of education I knew that this was not a good fit. Certainly I could perform the job. But, could I be happy in that position for a lifetime? Because I knew the answer to that question was no, I needed to find the career that would be fulfilling for a long time.
I wish I could remember the moment I knew teaching was the place I belonged. I don't. But, I do remember how much I enjoyed the classes and looked forward to having my own classroom. Not to date myself, but JFK was assassinated when I was a student teacher.
The skills I learned from the business classes have proven quite useful. Nothing was wasted. They were simply not the right fit for a lifetime career. That may happen to one or several of those who were taking those pictures in our yard. Some may make the correct decision early in their post high school years. Others may need to try a couple of new things before the right one appears. The point is there is so much promise in each of those young people. So much promise.
Beautiful young people making their way through life visited our place. Looking at them I feel secure that we will be just fine. This world is going to be so much better because they were born.
Congratulations and best wishes to all graduates!
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