Recently, I had the privilege of speaking to some of our senior athletes at Elkmont. This picture I am holding is one of me, senior year. Thirty years that really seemed to pass in a flash.
I wrote a letter to that eighteen year old young man to use during the talk. It has really had me thinking. Wouldn't it be great to be able to let yourself in on all of the things you thought you knew to be true then?
How great it would be to tell yourself that every single decision you make at that age will have an impact on who you become. The people you choose to surround yourself with will help dictate choices you make in life. To know all of the good things that are coming your way and that the bad is temporary and while painful it makes you stronger.
I'd like to tell him to be a better friend to some and to treat others with kindness. I'd like to tell him to listen to advice from his parents and to spend more time studying. I would like to tell him to be a leader and not "go along with the crowd". Just to let him know to be "still" at times and look at all of the beauty in the world. Tell him to appreciate life and not complain so much because the sad truth is not every young person gets to grow up. Most of all I would tell him that being a servant and living to lift others is not easy for him, but is a must to live a life in peace.
Looking out at the kids I have taught and coached is a blessing. I would love to crawl in each of their minds and give them the tools I have learned I needed over this past thirty years. Not going to happen, I know. But I do hope they realize this life is a gift. It doesn't necessarily belong to us entirely, but we have total control over the way we use it. We can put it in the corner and let it sit. We can destroy it with self pity and turmoil because it isn't "wrapped" the way we thought it might be. Or we can open it up, share it with others, and appreciate it and give it back to the One it came from! Have a good one!
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