The last to cross the finish line finished first

There’s a black sheep in every family and I don’t know if this one is it, or the only white sheep in the bunch.

Colton James Southern — the youngest of my four children — graduated from B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg on May 21. He is unique among his siblings because he is the only one to go through the same school system from elementary to high school. He’s also the second of our clan to graduate with honors and the first as a member of the National Honor Society. He ranked 10th in his class of over 500, and if you think I’m bragging like a proud papa, you bet I am!

I’m proud of how well all four of my children did, especially considering the paths they were dragged through to reach that finish line. Each had unique challenges to overcome. My oldest child and only daughter had to deal with the divorce of her parents and attended seven schools across three states before graduating with honors. In that time between her two families, she lived in 11 different houses.

My oldest son, whom I adopted as a stepparent, is also a child of divorce and did his schooling in five school districts across two states (three states if you consider that he finished online while living in Florida with his grandparents). My middle son, who graduated two years ago, started in Amarillo and finished in Rosenberg but had his share of personal challenges along the way.

Colton, however, was on more stable ground and took advantage of it. We lived in the same house for his first 10 years in school, and although we moved before his junior year, he didn’t change schools. He was almost always a straight-A student and made every single A/B honor roll. I don’t think it was the stability of a home that made the difference; I credit his mother with that. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while getting the kiddos through school.

As a three-sport benchwarmer in high school, I regret that none of our children participated in athletics. Considering that my wife was a musician, it’s also a letdown that none of the kids learned to play an instrument. Colton, however, was in JROTC for all four years in high school and excelled at it, even earning an academic letter. He was also the leader of his school’s rocketry club. That is truly where his interest lies.

This fall he will attend Texas A&M University, where he has been accepted into the engineering school. He was recently placed in Squadron 12 in the Corps of Cadets and will join the ROTC. This is a path he chose for himself back in junior high. His ultimate goal is to graduate and go into the Air Force or Space Force and help design rockets.

The day after Colton graduated, we held a party for him. That morphed into a Boy Scout Court of Honor where he was presented with his Eagle Scout rank. That makes him a second-generation Eagle Scout and the second of my sons to earn the rank.

Yeah, at this point you have to know that I am bragging. I think it’s every parents’ desire to have their children do better than they did, and I’ve had it happen four times. Heck, I could even say five times if you consider that my wife crushed me academically in college (not that it was a difficult thing to do).

So, with all of this success in my family, why would I even think of calling Colton the black sheep? I think that is because out of all the spirited and unconventional ways the rest of us got through school, Colton was the one who trekked the straight and narrow path. He devised a plan early on and has stayed true to his calling, nailing each milestone with aplomb. The rest of us took more circuitous routes.

In a normal family, Colton would be one of the white sheep. Mine is more of a black sheep family (not in a bad way, but in a quirky sense), which really makes Colton stand out. And I hope and pray he will continue to stand out and achieve great things as he moves onto this next chapter of life.

Colton, your family is very proud of you and loves you very much. Aim high, my son, and Gig ’em!

 joe@fredericksburgstandard.com

Colton Southern, a 2021 graduate of B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg, Texas.