The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.
I stood up to look around
when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming
up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty
seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she
gave me a giant squeeze.
"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied,
"I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel."
"No seriously,"
I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed
of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building
and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months
we would leave
class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and
experience
with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and easily made friends wherever she
went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in
the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She
was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and I'll never forget
what she taught us.
She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech,
she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and
simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey
is killing me! I'll never get my
speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: "We
do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only
four secrets to staying
young, being happy, and achieving success:
"You have to laugh and find humor every day.
"You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who
are dead and don't even know it!"
"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are
nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.
If I am eighty seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty eight. Anybody can
grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change."
"Have
no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only
people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challeneged
each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree
she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand
college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to
be all you can possibly be.
