The first day of school our professor introduced himself an
d 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 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, have
a couple of children, and then retire and travel."
"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 share 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 humor 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 the 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
years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years 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.
Lessons:
-
You are never too
old to learn.
-
Laugh and find humor everyday .
-
Don't let change overwhelm you, let
change help you find opportunities you may have never seen!
Advice
Do you have a dream, a wish, then turn it into a goal today - break it down,
take one step, then another and accomplish your dream. --
Catherine Pulsifer
