2002 Soap Box Archives

An open letter to the class of 2002

Congratulations on staying the course and being able to pick up that diploma. I remember the days surrounding my own graduation in 1955 as being some of the most special in my life, almost euphoric, and certainly gratifying. I hope you experience the same feelings and enjoy it as much as I did. It is a great nostalgic memory You’ll probably feel a little empty after it’s all over, realizing that you’ve arrived at the great jumping off place, the cutting of the apron strings, making your own decisions, responsible for your own future. Well congratulations on finishing the first phase of your education, now the fun begins. The real world where life is not fair and you success is dependent on much more than making good grades. In high school you were forbidden to mention the God who created you or the name of His son who died for you. But the first thing you need to realize is that no matter how the educational system or the A.C.L.U. try to do away with God, He is still there, always has been and always will be, and no amount of intellectual gobbley gook or legal double talk can ever change that fact. If you went to the kind of school that had the philosophy that everybody should pass just so they could feel good about themselves you have been done a disservice. In the real world there are winners and losers, achievers and non achievers, doers and don’ters, those who realize their dreams and those who sit back and blame the world at large for their failure. Remember it takes just as much energy to complain as it does to say something positive. There will be those who will try to party their way through life choosing drugs and alcohol and thinking that anyone who doesn’t indulge is not cool. Just wait until ten years down the road and see who’s cool. You have some hard decisions to make and some crossroads to pass, and which fork you take will effect you for the rest of your life. There is no way to sugar coat life, it’s going to beat and batter, toss and turn and poke and push you, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. The trials are tough but the rewards can be great to those who are willing to go the extra mile. Remember that you are worth only what you produce in the world of business, there will be no one to curve your grades or be touchy feely with. Nobody is going to pass you on up the ladder just so you can keep up with the rest of the employees. Some of you will have a rude awakening when you find out that the work-a-day world is not a politically correct place. Unless of course you’re going to college, then you can put off that stark reality for a few more years. You can always find an excuse to fail and if you blame it on your gender or race you are falling for a fallacy which has held back more people than police tape. Employers love employees who are the first ones to get there and the last ones to leave, those precious innovative few, who are willing to take on the really difficult tasks and stay with them until they’re done. If you’re a strict nine to fiver whose only interest is your paycheck don’t expect to go very far in this world, and if you’re willing to settle for that it’s all right. But if you’ve got a fire in your belly which only success can quench, go get ‘em tiger. It’s out there for you and don’t you let anybody tell you different. God Bless the Class of 2002

What do you think?

Charlie Daniels