The first day of school our professor
introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched
my shoulder. I turned around to find a
wrinkled,little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being..
She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give
you a hug?' I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and
she gave me a giant squeeze.. 'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent
age?' I asked. She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get
married, and have a couple of kids...'
'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what
may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. 'I always
dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After class we walked to the student union
building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day
for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was
always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and
experience with me.. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and
she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she
reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was
living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our
football banquet I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and
stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped
her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she
leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave
up beer for
Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll
never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.' As we laughed
she cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing because we are old;
we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying
young, being happy, and achieving success.
You have to laugh and find humour every
day. You've got to have a dream.
When you lose your dreams, you die. We have
so many people walking around
who are dead and don't even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing
older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full
year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am
eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will
turn eighty- eight. Anybody! Can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or
ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change.
Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't
have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only
people who fear death are those with regrets..' She concluded her speech by
courageously singing 'The Rose.' She challenged each of us to study the lyrics
and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the
college degree she had begun all those months ago. One week after graduation
Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended
her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never
too late to be all you can possibly be.
These words have been passed along in
loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY.
GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get. We make a
Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm
passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Stay inspired.
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