Perseverance

As an adviser, I work with seniors who go through many emotions in their final months of high school. Some are very anxious to graduate and complete their courses earlier than expected, some will continue to pace themselves to the finish at the planned time, and some want to slow down as they near to end to enjoy their high school years a while longer.

No matter how they are feeling, all have choices to make as they near graduation. Whether they want to go faster or slower to the finish line, my wish for all seniors is to capitalize on perseverance and lead yourself to many joys along the way.

I’ve been blessed by perseverance as a lifetime student. My history thrives around the ongoing pursuit of knowledge for either personal, social, sustainable, or professional goals. I’ve climbed a mountain of tasks, rolled down the hills, landed in pastures and pushed through to a finish line to find the beginning of new goal. I find the glory of overcoming any obstacle with perseverance.

Perseverance may be hard to find when you’re in high school and only starting to learn about yourself as a learner and a young adult. How can you find and capitalize your own perseverance?

• Spend time with family and friends.
• Learn something new to keep your tank full and brain working.
• Work with a team to care for others.
• Be grounded to deal with the tethered threads of life choices.
• Find courage to keep learning new skills.
• Explore creativity.
• Wear a smile every day!

The choices you have to make like when to graduate and what to do after graduation may be scary—change always is. All you need to do is live with hope, a big shovel of resiliency, and two buckets of perseverance. I promise you will make it through!