LHHS graduation is May 23.
During my visit with Merriman Park Elementary Beta Club members last week, I shared the core principles of journalism and taught them that getting to the root of any good story requires asking five critical questions — who, what, when, where and why. As Graduation Day approaches and Lake Highlands High School seniors prepare to go out and conquer the world, I encourage each one to ask these same five questions to help tackle life’s challenges and enjoy life’s triumphs.
WHO do you want to be? I’m not referring to your college major or your branch of military service or your chosen profession. When people talk about you behind your back — and they will — what do you want them to say? Will you be known as kind and helpful, thoughtful and generous, dedicated and hard-working? Will people say you put others first and search for ways to serve? If you see an opportunity to step on others or cheat to get ahead, will you take it?
WHAT will set you apart? You’ve been blessed with unique gifts, even if you haven’t found them yet. What are your talents, and what will you accomplish with them? What will you do to multiply and magnify your capabilities to the greatest possible effect? What can you do to reach the most people with the limited amount of time you’ll have on this planet?
WHEN will you come into your own? If you were a hometown hero, here’s some free advice: leave those Wildcat t-shirts behind when you head off to college or military basic training. Now’s the time to start from scratch and prove yourself. Whether you’ve been killin’ it since the third grade or you’ve never really hit your stride, you’ll have a chance to hit the reset button and reinvent yourself. If you’ve felt propped up (or held down) by your parents, your teachers or someone or something else, now’s your time to stand firmly on your own two feet. This is your time to shine in a whole new way.
WHERE will you settle? Whether you’re headed, as LHHS graduates are, to Brown University, the University of Southern California, SMU or somewhere in between, you’ll be exposed to different people, cultures and values. You’ll encounter new settings, where people take pride in their unique history, just as we in Lake Highlands take pride in our own. You may even end up staying in your new home to raise up future generations. Pick up your head and ask: Are these my people? Be intentional about your choices.
WHY are you walking your current path? It’s easy to become an accidental tourist in one’s own life, but, luckily, nothing is set in stone — yet. Take charge of your life now. Don’t simply fall into a college or a major or a profession. Choose them. Don’t know what you want to do or be? Get out and explore. Try things. Ask questions. Speak to people about what they do and whether they enjoy it. Life is short. Craft the life you want.
It’s no surprise that a writer like me would be an avid reader, and I’m a big fan of Theo of Golden by New York Times best-selling author Allen Levi, who spoke at the Lake Highlands Young Life banquet a few years ago and created a message for the Lake Highlands Women’s League book club recently about the process he used to write his runaway hit. Here are a few of his quotes as LHHS graduates head off into the big, wide world.
“For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it.”
“The best portion of a good person’s life is the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.”
“Do good, bestow kindness, strive for beauty, seek and find the river that leads to life everlasting, and draw from the fountain that never runs dry.”
Wildcat graduation will take place at Lake Highlands High School at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 23. Congratulations, all.
