Class of 1996. Valedictorian. Full Ride to UNC-Chapel Hill. oh, but, then, wait, walked away from said full ride. I blame my overuse of commas in this commentary to that lapse of teenage judgement. To the chagrin of my folks, I spent some period of time that shall remain unmentioned falling in love.. and then recovering from loves labours lost.. I think some people casually refer to this as your 20s? Anyway, I redeemed my educational endeavors, eventually, and graduate with my Master of Science in Nursing Informatics from Duke University this August. I whole heartedly believe that my degree, or any accolade that comes or has come my way, pales in comparison to the foundation that was built during my years roaming the halls of Parkwood. I learned from the teachers, coaches, administrators, and fellow students that poor decisions are not the end of the world. That no one is perfect. The greatest challenge of high school was the constant challenge to not only tolerate but accept others, no matter the color of skin, the gender, the social stature of their family, the level of entitlement, their abilities or disabilities, their predisposition to hillbilly, which clique they identified with, if their lunch was reduced cost, if they drove a late model car, or still rode the bus. The challenge from those years, remains the challenge today, with the addition of internet comments. The views of a few are just that, views of a few. The burdens those few carry, we know nothing about, and the foundation that we are so lucky to have received from Union County schools, others have clearly not been so fortunate. The challenge remains, to practice not only tolerance, but acceptance of others. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.- Martin Luther King, Jr. #rebellove
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:46:34 +0000
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