A season of dreams
A season of dreams. That’s what graduation is.
Each spring, high school and college seniors mark the completion of their formal education at that level. It is a moment they’ve dreamed of. It is the beginning of the fulfillment of their dreams. For those moving on to college, a new or modified dream is taking shape. Those who are not returning to school are finding their dreams turning into reality.
I don’t envy those trying to enter the workforce in today’s economy. There are going to be a lot of delayed careers by those who have to take jobs outside their area of study just to make ends meet.
It can be done. I did it in 1987 when the economy was bad, though nothing like this. The summer I earned my journalism degree from Adams State College, I moved to Minnesota, got married and started my four-month career with a national pizza chain. That’s how long it took me to finally land a newspaper job. I worked hard at the pizzeria, hating every minute of it. But I never let go of my dreams and hung in there until I made my goal.
Those who find themselves in the same boat, hang in there. Don’t quit. Keep trying because the job you want will someday be at your doorstep. Keep your dream alive.
The hard part is keeping your dreams living years down the road. Reality has a nasty way of derailing or even crushing our dreams. That’s where perseverance and determination must take over.
Too often the choices we make, interference from others or circumstances intervene to cause us to lose sight of our dreams. Sometimes even bigger and better things come along and we form new dreams.
Not many of my friends from high school are doing the things they dreamed of back in 1983. Shoot, many of the jobs we have today didn’t exist back then.
I reached the height of my journalistic dreams six years ago when I was doing the job I wanted at my hometown paper, the Longmont Times-Call. I had a great job, a new home and my fourth child was a newborn. I was on top of the world.
Feeling I had achieved my dreams, I dreamt anew. I started a home-based business that became a nightmare. The ensuing crash brought my old dreams sharply back into focus. That, in a nutshell, is how I came to leave Colorado for Texas. I now know that bigger isn’t always better. There is a lot to be said for being an ol’ country editor of a small weekly paper. I’m still living a dream.
Last Saturday I covered graduation at Prairie View A&M University. You could feel the hopes and dreams of the graduates and see it in their eyes and their smiles. Their enthusiasm was contagious. I hope they don’t lose that. The same goes for the hundreds of local high school students who will be gathering their diplomas in the coming weeks.
This is indeed a season of dreams. I hope for each of the graduates that theirs will come true.
Here kitty, kitty
A couple months ago we had to give away one of our cats. She had become a little wild and took to nipping at various family members in the middle of the night and tormenting our older cat. She found a nice home that we’re sure is a better fit.
At the time we promised our kids that we would replace her when kitten season came around. Well, it’s kitten season and as much as I hate to open the floodgates, we are in the market.
We’re not buying. We want one “free to a good home.” Our preference is an orange tabby (though a seal-point Himalayan wouldn’t hurt my feelings). With the exception of my son’s toad, all of our pets are orange. It wasn’t planned; it just sort of happened that way.
Said kitten should be good with kids and other pets. If it’s fixed, declawed and has all its shots, that’s even better. I’d be willing to pay for that, as we would have it done anyway.
If you or anyone you know has such a critter they’d like to part with, please let me know. You would make four children very happy.
Each spring, high school and college seniors mark the completion of their formal education at that level. It is a moment they’ve dreamed of. It is the beginning of the fulfillment of their dreams. For those moving on to college, a new or modified dream is taking shape. Those who are not returning to school are finding their dreams turning into reality.
I don’t envy those trying to enter the workforce in today’s economy. There are going to be a lot of delayed careers by those who have to take jobs outside their area of study just to make ends meet.
It can be done. I did it in 1987 when the economy was bad, though nothing like this. The summer I earned my journalism degree from Adams State College, I moved to Minnesota, got married and started my four-month career with a national pizza chain. That’s how long it took me to finally land a newspaper job. I worked hard at the pizzeria, hating every minute of it. But I never let go of my dreams and hung in there until I made my goal.
Those who find themselves in the same boat, hang in there. Don’t quit. Keep trying because the job you want will someday be at your doorstep. Keep your dream alive.
The hard part is keeping your dreams living years down the road. Reality has a nasty way of derailing or even crushing our dreams. That’s where perseverance and determination must take over.
Too often the choices we make, interference from others or circumstances intervene to cause us to lose sight of our dreams. Sometimes even bigger and better things come along and we form new dreams.
Not many of my friends from high school are doing the things they dreamed of back in 1983. Shoot, many of the jobs we have today didn’t exist back then.
I reached the height of my journalistic dreams six years ago when I was doing the job I wanted at my hometown paper, the Longmont Times-Call. I had a great job, a new home and my fourth child was a newborn. I was on top of the world.
Feeling I had achieved my dreams, I dreamt anew. I started a home-based business that became a nightmare. The ensuing crash brought my old dreams sharply back into focus. That, in a nutshell, is how I came to leave Colorado for Texas. I now know that bigger isn’t always better. There is a lot to be said for being an ol’ country editor of a small weekly paper. I’m still living a dream.
Last Saturday I covered graduation at Prairie View A&M University. You could feel the hopes and dreams of the graduates and see it in their eyes and their smiles. Their enthusiasm was contagious. I hope they don’t lose that. The same goes for the hundreds of local high school students who will be gathering their diplomas in the coming weeks.
This is indeed a season of dreams. I hope for each of the graduates that theirs will come true.
Here kitty, kitty
A couple months ago we had to give away one of our cats. She had become a little wild and took to nipping at various family members in the middle of the night and tormenting our older cat. She found a nice home that we’re sure is a better fit.
At the time we promised our kids that we would replace her when kitten season came around. Well, it’s kitten season and as much as I hate to open the floodgates, we are in the market.
We’re not buying. We want one “free to a good home.” Our preference is an orange tabby (though a seal-point Himalayan wouldn’t hurt my feelings). With the exception of my son’s toad, all of our pets are orange. It wasn’t planned; it just sort of happened that way.
Said kitten should be good with kids and other pets. If it’s fixed, declawed and has all its shots, that’s even better. I’d be willing to pay for that, as we would have it done anyway.
If you or anyone you know has such a critter they’d like to part with, please let me know. You would make four children very happy.
posted by Joe Southern | 9:17 AM
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