Sunday, August 9, 2015

Happy new year!

published August 25, 2011
in the Stockton Sentinel
Stockton, Kansas



            Today is the first day of a new year. It is an exciting day for many of us, complete with pictures being taken, new hairdos, book bags and new clothes, lots of hugs and kisses, and many goals and resolutions. This new year’s day, however, doesn’t rate capital letters like New Year’s Day on January 1st, although it would be just as appropriate. For this day is the beginning of a new school year – filled with hopes and aspirations among teachers and teachers’ aides, administrators, cooks, custodians, bus drivers, and most importantly, the students themselves – with everyone coming together to focus on a common goal: education.
            I remember first days of school and looking forward with great anticipation. I remember packing a paper grocery bag with new supplies (I don’t remember when book bags were invented, but I don’t think I had one until I went to college!), then waiting at the end of the driveway for the bus to stop and pick me up. Upon arriving at school, I remember searching for a desk with my name on it and then looking around anxiously to see who would be sitting next to me. Those were the days!
            And I remember my senior year in high school, when I thought I had finally arrived at the top of the mountain, that I had made it to “the big time.” By then, I pretty much knew everything and had everything figured out. Or so I thought. Looking back, I’m not sure I was even smarter than a fifth grader.
            I’d be surprised if any new senior in high school is reading this column (or reading the paper, for that matter!), but some of you who are reading this may have a smart senior in your family or know one personally. Some of you also have in your family a monster who you barely recognize, but who the school has classified as a junior high student.
For years, I have saved an article about a speech made to an assembly of high school students by Bill Gates – the founder and CEO of the Microsoft Corporation and one of the richest men in the world. In the following excerpt from his speech, Gates spoke candidly to the students about “the real world” lessons they won’t learn in school. In his “Eleven Rules,” Gates’ thoughts are appropriate not only for high school seniors, but for students at least in junior high through high school. (The Sentinel does laminating if you want to clip this and tape it to their bathroom mirror!)
            Rule 1:  Life is not fair – get used to it.
            Rule 2:  The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
            Rule 3:  You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president until you earn it.
            Rule 4:  If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
            Rule 5:  Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping – they called it “opportunity.”
            Rule 6:  If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes – learn from them.
            Rule 7:  Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, washing your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closets in your own room.
            Rule 8:  Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. Some schools have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
            Rule 9:  Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. You’ll have to do that on your own time.
            Rule 10:  Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
            Rule 11:  Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
            As long as you are in school, however, always remember that what looks and feels and sounds like criticism, is actually love in action. Your teachers and parents truly have your best interests at heart and want you to succeed.
            Have a happy new year, and may it be your best year!

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