Thoughts on graduating high school

I believe there is a moment in everyone’s life when they realize that their childhood is gone. It’s not a gradual realization, but rather a sudden realization that causes you to look back. Perhaps it is while watching a movie and realizing just how old it is, or the day your acceptance letter arrives from a University, or the moment you see your childhood toys being stored away. It is no longer our parent’s responsibilities to buy the necessities, sign the applications, and figure out the schedule. It is now our responsibility. It is the stage where we reach the last of our childhood and fully take on the adult life. At 15, 16 we think we are so old and mature, but it isn’t until we reach a certain age that we look back and wish we could have known what we know now. I spent some of my high school years  wishing I was 18 years old, and it wasn’t until I had my 18th birthday that I realized I had wasted some of my best years wishing I was that old. We make mistakes, we fall, we think we have fully matured, and then we look back and realize just how immature we were. As we get older we gain experience, wisdom, and maturity. In another 18 years I am sure I will look back and wonder how I could have been so immature, just as I look back now and think.

Looking back we can see where we have come from, and who made us what we are today. God has so richly blessed me with the family I have and in the different things that He has placed in my path as I grew up.  First and foremost are our parents. Our parents taught us, trained us, and loved us. The reason I am where I am today is because of my parents. They inspired me to live for Christ, to grow in my walk with God, and to live to my full potential. I have decided that when I am a wife and mother I want to be like my mom and when I get married I want to marry a man like my dad. My parents also put extra time and energy in homeschooling my four siblings and I. For me, and I am sure all homeschooled students feel the same, being homeschooled gave me the foundation I needed to build the rest of my life. As a teacher, my mom showed me how to do my best in everything I do. When I was younger I sometimes did my school work quickly just to get it finished. I thought I was doing my best, but my mom knew I could do better, she knew I was just doing it to get it done. I had several assignments thrown into the trash before I realized I wasn’t doing my best, but now I know that I have to do my best in everything I do. My mom has also been my debate and speech coach for the past five years. Debate has been such a big part of my life and I am so thankful to her for putting in all the time and effort to allow us to have a debate team. Our Homeschool debate team has been such a big part of my high school years, I really couldn't imagine what I would have done without it.

I have one brother and three sisters who have grown up with me. I know that friends will come and go, but siblings will always be there for us. I know that if ever I am in a hard place I can trust my siblings to be there for me, helping me up. I have so many memories of the times I have spent with my family, the experiences we have had, and the things we have gone through.
One of the things I will always look forward to are the times when my family is together.

Another activity that has been instrumental to my maturity, as a person as well as a Christian, is the Awana program. Awana is a kids club which I have been a part of since I was 5 years old, the last three years as a leader. The name Awana comes from II Timothy 2:15 which says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” I want to present myself as a worker who is not ashamed, and who can rightly understand and teach the word of God. I have learned this through the Awana program. I will never forget the people I have met and the kids I have led in Awana. My foundation on God’s word is also stronger because of it.

There have been countless people who have touched my life. Friends, relatives, and my heroes. Some of my heroes are Nate Saint, a missionary pilot who was killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador; William Wilberforce, a man who dedicated his life to the fight against slavery; Betty Greene, a woman who wanted to serve God with her love for aviation; Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest leaders and speakers in the United States. All these people lived their life with a purpose. Their stories have inspired me to go out and do great things for God.

At this time we aren't just looking back, we are also looking forward. I am excited to see what God has in store for me in the future. In two and a half months I will be leaving for University to earn my degree in mission aviation. After that, I will be waiting for God to send me to the mission field where I can fly for Him. I want to change the world. Those of us who are graduating are the next generation, we have a responsibility to change the world. God said in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” and like Isaiah we have to respond with, “Here am I, send me.” As we leave High school and go out into the world we have a responsibility. We are lights in the darkness. We have been called by God to stand out and speak up. Wherever we are, we can be the change. We are children of God and God has given each one of us a purpose and a goal, our task is to follow that goal and finish the work He has given us to finish. Opportunities are all around us, the question is, what will we do with them?

We can look back and we can look forward, but we need to live in the moment. People living in the past look like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, whose greatest wish was to go back in time and play for his High school football team. For anyone who has never seen the movie, you never ever want to end up like Uncle Rico. It’s living your life without direction, not being able to go back, but unwilling to go forward. And if you live in the future you will never accomplish anything. We will never be able to take hold of the future. The past is behind us, we can’t undo mistakes we made or re-live good times, and our future is uncertain, Christ is coming back and we don't know whether we will be here tomorrow. We have to live now, live in the moment. Accomplishing our goals today instead of tomorrow. We won't be able to stand before God in Heaven and say, “I was going to do that later, You just came back before I could do it.” It’s what we do today that counts. James 4:13-14 says, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

In looking back I realized that I wasted a lot of time wishing I was older, and looking toward the future to resolve my problems, I have to resolve my problems here and now, I have to live right now. Stop wasting time. It is what we do right now that will count.

Those of you who are graduating from grade 8, and those who are still in High school, step out and make your high school years count. Some people may tell you that you are too young to change the world right now, that you should wait until you're older. But, we are never too young to stand up, as I Timothy 4:12 says, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers, in word, in conduct, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” We are not only an example to believers, but also to the whole world. Those who are graduating from High School, and those who have already graduated, this is for you as well. Many times people see us as still immature and young even though we are out of High School. Show them that we can be an example, that we too can change the world. Some people may think that we can’t do things because we don’t have enough experience, but we gain experience by doing things. Don’t let anyone or anything hinder you from stepping out and changing the world.

Learn to step out of your comfort zones and do things you would never have thought to do. getting out of your comfort zone is one of the best things I have done during High School and one of the best things you could do, as Caleb Grimm said, “If you're not in your comfort zone, then you're probably growing. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”