Quoting Joey

“I used to be afraid of so many things.  That I’d never grow up.  That I’d be trapped in the same place for all eternity.  That my dreams would forever be shy of my reach.  It’s true what they say, ‘Time plays tricks on you.’  One day you’re dreaming, the next, your dream has become reality.  And now that this scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her, I do.  Because there are things I want to tell her.  To relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be okay.  I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are; will become an increasingly rare occurrence.”
  “…These people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go, and as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows.  Because the truth is… it was the best of times.  Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all of that has receded into fond memory now.  How does it happen?  Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good?  Maybe it’s because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something, that we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all, a time in our lives that we will never forget.  I can’t swear this is exactly how it happened.  But this is how it felt.”

Perhaps Joey Potter was actually based upon myself, some twenty some years ago.  Perhaps all the things I’ve learned, she learned.  And maybe, just maybe, the above quote still holds true to this day.  As we close the books on the Class of 2014, as we celebrate their successes, and send them out into the world, to work, to study, to parent, to preach, to practice… whatever their futures hold, maybe we could tell them that they can relax.  They can breathe more deeply, move more slowly, and look more longingly into all that surrounds them.  Perhaps they will remember their past at first, as a place to move away from.  Perhaps, as I did, when they are ready, their lives will move full circle, and they will remember their past in a way that helps them to mentor someone else.  Maybe these days that they have lived here in our small, cornfield town, will be a launching pad for the greatest achievements mankind can make yet.  Maybe it’s a springboard for some young adults to have a little faith in the idea that they can do anything that they set their minds to.  I don’t know what their lives will bring.  I can’t see that far.

What I can see is a beautiful bunch of people, all in different places, with different goals, varying abilities, and equal amount of potential.  I can see a future full of promise when I look into their eyes.  I have known some of these people as long as they’ve been alive, some I’ve known six short years, and some, I just met last year.  I am blessed to know each one.  I pray for them, I laugh with them, I cajole them, I push some of them, I have cried with them, I have fought with them, I have driven to Ginkgo (notice the spelling Amber and Maggie!) with them, and I have loved them each as a friend and brother or sister.  I believe that each one that they will do great things with their lives, whether it be for their families or for our world.  I know that they all have a sense of direction, and that they will serve their communities well, in various capacities.

When I graduated all those years ago, I couldn’t wait to leave.  To spread my wings and fly far away.  I never wanted to come back.  I had big dreams to pursue.  And then time and circumstances changed the way my dreams look.  And I get to live my dream life every day with the three most beautiful people God ever made.  I get to do things in my real life that I never dreamed possible, back when I was dreaming childish dreams!

For those people who are closing their high school text books for the last time.  For the college grads who are ready to embark on the next chapter, I am so happy for you.  I’m celebrating with you.  I know you must be so proud of your accomplishments.  I believe in you.  I know you will be just fine, because you already have come so far!

I hope one day, the Class of 2014 looks back and gets to say this, “I am doing things in my real life that I never dreamed possible back when I was dreaming those dreams.”  Because then, I’ll know that they are really living.