Farewell Class of 2019

My Wish

Well what a strange end to a school year. With all the snow and fog delays we had, now we end up with a "flood" delay. It just seems like the seniors aren't sure what their last day of school is. I do know that tomorrow night (Tuesday May 21st) our seniors will be having their awards ceremony from Vantage. This time of year, I always repeat a blog that means a lot to me and one of the best ways I have of expressing my thoughts and feelings to the graduating seniors. I like to include the words to one of my favorite songs, "MY WISH" by Rascal Flatts. The song was written and released in 2006 and I have always thought it had the perfect words to say to the students leaving Vantage. If you get a chance, go to YouTube and listen to it, you will enjoy. The song starts out by saying...

   "I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow, and each road leads you where you wanna go, and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose, I hope you choose the one that means the most to you. And if one door opens to another door closed, I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window, if it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile. But more than anything, more than anything... My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to, Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small, You never need to carry more than you can haul, and while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too, Yeah, this is my wish".

As the words say, I really do hope you enjoy life, take it one day at a time and don't get upset by some of the little things you will face. I hope you never give up when you run into trouble. Please don't give up on your dreams, use them as motivation. I also want you to know that wherever you end up or whatever you end up doing, I do care for you and I do want the same thing for you. My door is always open after you leave. Feel free to call or email me anytime. I welcome it.

   "I hope you never look back, but you never forget, All the ones who love you, in the place you live, I hope you always forgive, and you never regret, And you help somebody every chance you get. Oh you find God's grace in every mistake, and always give more than you take".

Some pretty simple rules that will help you as you head out into the "real world". Don't hold on to grudges or hold on to your anger just because someone may have made you upset. You will find that when you forgive, you will be released and set free from an invisible prison. You will be a better person because of it. Please continue to give back to the community in which you live. You will not believe how good it feels when you reach out and help someone. Many of you have volunteered while you were in school, keep it up every chance you get.

I know that some of you reading this may have been in my office because you were upset about a mistake you made or something you regretted doing. Remember that I have always told you that you learn from your mistakes. We all make them but it is the mature person who learns from it and grows as a person. Hold on to this bit of advice and don't forget it. I guarantee you will need it again some time in the future. We all make mistakes. Finally as the lyrics above started out with, I hope you never forget. Come back and visit us or send us a quick e-mail to let us know how you are doing.

So there it is, my wish for all of you seniors who are leaving us in a few short days. I thank you for trusting me with your friendship, your troubles and your last two years of high school. Good luck in all you do. As for all my other readers, this is my final blog of the school year. Thanks as always for reading the blog, the kind comments and the inspiration. Have a great summer!

Reach Out

I came across this video recently and wanted to share it with you...  It's a short video - less than 2 minutes.  Will you do me a favor and watch it?

REACHING OUT VIDEO


Reaching out seems like a simple concept when we are in a good place mentally and emotionally, but it can take extraordinary courage to reach out when we are feeling weak, overwhelmed, hopeless, and needing someone to help us when we are in a dark place.

This is especially true when one is having thoughts of suicide, but it is actually true of any moment when we are feeling lost, lonely, vulnerable and hurting.  Reaching out allows us to share our pain and experiences with someone else and gives them a chance to help us.  Sometimes people will do great at responding to our efforts to seek support and help and, I will be honest, sometimes they won't.  But if you are struggling, I encourage you to reach out until you find someone who IS willing and able to help walk with you through the hard times because this feeling won't last and things will get better with help.

I also want to remind each of you how powerful and valuable you are when you assist someone else who is struggling.  The greatest thing that you can do is to help connect them to someone else who is trained to support and help them to make sure that they are able to stay safe.  Keeping thoughts of suicide a secret is NOT help!  You want to help those you love and care about - friends or family members - and you can be incredibly helpful to them.  Listening and caring are wonderful gifts that you can give to them - as is connecting them to more support.  And once you have connected them to additional help from a trusted adult, it doesn't mean your job is over - your family member or friend still needs you - they still need you to encourage and listen to them, or to be your normal self who will make them smile when everything else seems stressful.

If you are struggling, I hope you will reach out to me.  Stop by and see me so we can talk about what is going on.  If you are struggling at other times you can always reach out to the other adults in your life or to a hotline such as the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting 4Hope (or any other message) to 741741.