As I gain a bit more awareness of the reality of who I am, something that seems to come only in the minutest of bits and pieces, I am discovering that the shadows of my youth are still the same shadows of my later years. The joyful spirit and the sadness of the contents of childhood and youth are starting to make themselves known to me again. And to my surprise, the gifts of my youth are still there. All it takes is a willingness to allow them to come into the light where they can flourish.
One day I hope my grandson reads this and although he may not learn from this he will hopefully gain some ideas that will be useful to him as he grows. First, let me say there are many who claim to have the answer, but I think they are wrong. There are no answers only more questions. The adventure of life is the wonderful journey of discovery that we all take. On any journey we may get lost, but if we have a good compass we will find our way. The best compass you could have is your belief in yourself. I have been fortunate in that over the years I have made many mistakes and learned a few things on my journey, but the joy of life is that we are always presented with new problems, which leads to new discoveries and to new adventures.
When I was in high school, I was a star athlete in Track, I was on a community football team that won a Canadian Championship, and on softball teams that won BC Championships, but I did not see myself as an athlete. I was involved in Drama and acted and worked behind the scenes for five years in our schools theater productions, but I di not see mayself as a creative person. I was on the school newspaper, and an editor of the school annual on the honour roll, and a member of Junior Achievement, and managed a band for two years, but I did not see myself as an academic or business minded. I did all these things because I was having fun exploring all that was open to me, and not once did I think about what others thought. I enjoyed doing these things but I was not classified by them, nor were my friends from one group. I had friends from all groups. What I did have and did not know at the time was a belief in myself that was strong and when I did things, I brought a passion to the task, that was strong and believable. The key to being is belief in self and passion for the task. For me, discovering my passions, is what made me unique. Discovering your passion may not always spur an immediate shift from what you are doing to what you could be doing, but in the right circumstances it may.
I choose to go to a new university because of what I did not have to take and became one of about 2,500 charter students. I helped start the first student newspaper, helped set up and was on the first student government as the Cultural Director, and helped run the first dances at the university. I was involved in student protests, and trying to find social justice for all. I did all of this with a hunger and a passion in my beliefs. I was also one of 1500 Charter students that graduated on time. Again, I had fun and did not allow others to distract me from what needed to be done in each of the areas that I chose to do. I was successful in each of the areas that I chose to participate in, not because I was good, but because I was able to work well with all sorts of people. I did not choose my areas lightly, I thought about each endeavor and weighed the pros's and con's of getting involved against my personal belief system and criteria. There are no correct answers but I urge you to find a way to believe in yourself, develop personal criteria for making decisions that are right for you and then go for it (whatever it is) and when you do, bring your passion to the task. If you have passion, and trust yourself, trust your friends, trust your instincts and be true to yourself, life will be an adventure that you will enjoy and you will be a positive force for those around you.
One day I hope my grandson reads this and although he may not learn from this he will hopefully gain some ideas that will be useful to him as he grows. First, let me say there are many who claim to have the answer, but I think they are wrong. There are no answers only more questions. The adventure of life is the wonderful journey of discovery that we all take. On any journey we may get lost, but if we have a good compass we will find our way. The best compass you could have is your belief in yourself. I have been fortunate in that over the years I have made many mistakes and learned a few things on my journey, but the joy of life is that we are always presented with new problems, which leads to new discoveries and to new adventures.
When I was in high school, I was a star athlete in Track, I was on a community football team that won a Canadian Championship, and on softball teams that won BC Championships, but I did not see myself as an athlete. I was involved in Drama and acted and worked behind the scenes for five years in our schools theater productions, but I di not see mayself as a creative person. I was on the school newspaper, and an editor of the school annual on the honour roll, and a member of Junior Achievement, and managed a band for two years, but I did not see myself as an academic or business minded. I did all these things because I was having fun exploring all that was open to me, and not once did I think about what others thought. I enjoyed doing these things but I was not classified by them, nor were my friends from one group. I had friends from all groups. What I did have and did not know at the time was a belief in myself that was strong and when I did things, I brought a passion to the task, that was strong and believable. The key to being is belief in self and passion for the task. For me, discovering my passions, is what made me unique. Discovering your passion may not always spur an immediate shift from what you are doing to what you could be doing, but in the right circumstances it may.
I choose to go to a new university because of what I did not have to take and became one of about 2,500 charter students. I helped start the first student newspaper, helped set up and was on the first student government as the Cultural Director, and helped run the first dances at the university. I was involved in student protests, and trying to find social justice for all. I did all of this with a hunger and a passion in my beliefs. I was also one of 1500 Charter students that graduated on time. Again, I had fun and did not allow others to distract me from what needed to be done in each of the areas that I chose to do. I was successful in each of the areas that I chose to participate in, not because I was good, but because I was able to work well with all sorts of people. I did not choose my areas lightly, I thought about each endeavor and weighed the pros's and con's of getting involved against my personal belief system and criteria. There are no correct answers but I urge you to find a way to believe in yourself, develop personal criteria for making decisions that are right for you and then go for it (whatever it is) and when you do, bring your passion to the task. If you have passion, and trust yourself, trust your friends, trust your instincts and be true to yourself, life will be an adventure that you will enjoy and you will be a positive force for those around you.
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