Renewed Hope

by a Wise One

…I was recently at a gathering reuniting many people I’d known back in college (some 30+ years ago). They were all uniquely successful, yet almost all of them had dropped out of school for anywhere from one semester to 10 years (‘This was ‘W,’ who then went on to law school in his late 30’s and became mayor of a large city!). ‘X’ dropped out several times, preferring to hitch cross country, book another 9 years to get her PhD in science and is now a highly-recognized researcher and professor. ‘Y’ dropped out, changed majors—and schools —several times, and is now the COO of an award-winning regional bank.

When ‘Z’ became pregnant, she dropped out. Went on to have 5 kids, yet managed to get her degree and become a well-respected, dedicated teacher. What struck me was that all of these people (there were others with similar stories) love what they do and are excellent at it.

…So as painful as it is to see my own child struggling to find his way, this gathering was a terrific reminder that some people have to go at their own pace and may take a lot longer to know what they want, but can still be happy and successful—on their own terms!