OPINION - Guest writer

Reach for the light

Students, grads find the path

I had the opportunity to visit my kids in college over the Easter break. They both attend a college located in south central Tennessee among the woods and creeks of the Cumberland Plateau.

On Holy Saturday, we hiked the Fiery Gizzard Trail. Marked by pristine ecosystems and punctuated by a winding stream with waterfalls and hundred-foot trees, the trail's beauty looks like something out of a postcard. As we hiked and talked, I noticed a phenomenon that occurred again and again: trees growing out of boulders along the creek.

These weren't just twigs or Charlie Brown-style Christmas trees, these were three-foot-diameter-thick trees that reached several stories into the sky. It was curious. These boulder trees were as tall as the others further into the bank, but their root systems were wrapped around rocks that served as foundation.

Untamed winds or careless birds had deposited seeds on top of rocks, and those seeds had grown over decades. You can't help but think that those trees, as they grew, looked longingly at their comrades on fertile ground that had no visible problems as they sprouted. The other trees were on solid soil and their roots uninhibited.

But the boulder trees had to figure a way around their obstacle. They had to wrap their roots around the boulder, envelop it, and work painstakingly to reach the soil. It was impressive to see how they must have struggled as they leaned far over the creek and into the sunlight that was otherwise blocked by the better-fed vegetation.

Boulder trees have an unfair life. They started in thin dirt on top of a rock. But those trees persevered. Instead of cursing the rock on which they perched, they made those rocks into the firmest foundations and reached ever more for the sunlight that would nourish them, that would help them grow. Reaching for the light is important.

High school graduates should be reminded of this regularly. They should be reminded that high school is the proving grounds of a complete, balanced life. It's the ramp to adulthood with success and failure waiting to be plucked from the air as they launch.

We tell our newly minted alumni to meet every graduation night comment of "You made it!" with "No, I'm just getting started, I'm just getting started!" The foundation is secure and the path lies just around the bend. We hate to see graduates go. We love to see them succeed.

The whirlwind is well underway and it's a wonder to see.

However, as summer fast approaches, we, as parents, are tasked with using that downtime to decode the problems of our kids' generation, to guide those still in our care. Truly, we are optimistic about our kids and strongly believe they can be the next greatest generation. But it's up to us as parents and educators to make sure they have the tools to thrive in a beautifully challenging world.

Among the primary problems that kids face is that they do not allow their minds to be still. Instead, they default to apps and icons and other people's life stories made thick by the need to impress. Summer is the perfect time to address this, to guide a teen away from the music in his phone and the Snapchat in his face to the tunes in the trees and the scenery in the water. Not forever. Just for a time during the day when he or she has the chance to be introspective and realize that listening is more valuable than clicking.

Personal betterment is a wonderful summertime goal. It's fixing the flats in our lives and letting air out of the tires that were overinflated. There are opportunities galore to explore, to learn, to improve. Whether a recent graduate or a freshman eyeing the future, these simple truths are universal.

Those boulder trees wrapped their roots around the rocks and reached over the creek and into the sun. We teach our children to be like those trees: Wrap yourself around whatever flaw or wound that holds you back, envelop it, smother it with strength, use it as a pedestal for engagement and a rallying cry for perseverance.

Then, lean forward and reach for the light. Reach for the light, for there you will find success. Reach for the light, for there you will find your true self. Reach for the light, for there you will find God.

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Steve Straessle is the principal of Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys.

Editorial on 05/26/2017

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