Ten Years Ago Me

I recently read a blog by a young woman who was talking about an article she read called "A Letter to Ten-Years-Ago-Me. The article itself was mainly a humorous article about what you would tell yourself ten years ago based on what you know now. The blog was interesting because this young woman had been married ten years and also had her oldest son in remission from cancer. She had a lot to look back on and a lot of things she could tell her ten-year-ago-me. Well it's kind of strange but this is my tenth year at Vantage so I thought "what would I tell my ten-year-ago-me?"

- I think I would tell myself to relax more and don't sweat the small stuff, everything will work out.

- I would tell myself to start running immediately because the benefits you will feel from it are awesome. You will lower your cholesterol, maintain your weight, relieve stress and on and on. I wish I didn't wait so long to learn that.

- Don't ever let the busyness of your job crowd out your compassion for the students. The students are the reason you took this job. Meet them, know them, talk to them as much as you can. Reach out to the quiet ones, the ones who sit alone. All are important. You will never know when one of them may not be here tomorrow.

- Hug and kiss your family whenever you can. Be grateful for all the things you have. Call your mother more often. I'm sure she would love to hear from you all the time.

- Smile at life and be kind to others. Enjoy every minute of every day. They are all so precious. Take every opportunity to talk with the staff and spend time with them while they are still working with you. (So many have moved on that I truly miss. I think of Denny Koester, John Kueneke, Vern Fischer, Tom Mershman, Roger Ruen, Mike Klutka, Shirley Jarvis and so many others).

I hope all of you will take the time to think what you might write that ten-year-ago-me. I know that for the students it may be a little bit more difficult but maybe think about that five-year-ago-me. What would you tell that young middle school student who is now a junior or senior at Vantage? Would you tell them to take school more serious? Would you tell them to jump at every opportunity they have at Vantage? Would you write to them and tell them not to worry so much about the OGT test because you will pass them all anyway? I'm not sure what you would write, but I know it would be interesting. Maybe as I walk around the labs the next few weeks, you can stop me and tell me what you would write to that five-year-ago-me. I would love to hear it.