In High School I Wanted To…
For many of us, this Sunday (and the Sundays yet to come in May) marks the end of a very significant chapter in our life. Graduation for many of us is right here, giving us the promise of new hopes, new dreams, and new visions. In this very, very exciting time, though, we not only look forward to what is yet to come, but also remember what has come to pass.
Though it may seem a little nostalgic, take some time BEFORE graduation to remember what your greatest version of your grandest vision you had about Who You Are was in high school. For when we look forward, it is just as important to remember where we came from to continue to create and enhance that vision. We all had a dream, a goal, an ideal, and along our journey, we fulfilled them. So, think to yourself, “In High School, I wanted to…” and see just how far you have come.
For the sake of getting started, I have posted my own response below to the statement above. Though everyone’s journey IS different, I would LOVE to hear what you all have thought of your journey in high school in the comments below. For when we create a vision, AND share that vision, things really start to change. So without any further ado:
In High School I wanted to….
Learn to love it all. I love math, but I also, above all, love writing. Creating a sense of balance AND understanding of both the concrete and the abstract has been a pivotal point of my high school experience. As many believe that the arts and sciences remain in completely different domains, I have found the Middle Path. Incorporating both scientific analysis and artistic solutions has expressed many opportunities that would have gone unseen and unnoticed. By knowing both sides of the spectrum, the latent potential to be great and do great is forever being manifested. With great guidance from all those who have helped me along my journey (family, friends, teachers, coaches, etc.), I learned to create that balance. With this equilibrium, I will be ready for all the challenges of creating a New Cultural Story. For an example on how I have achieved that, I included a poem that I wrote in 2012, called The Human Element:
They say that matter
cannot be created
nor can it be destroyed.
They gave us these rules
to bring supreme logic
into our world of chaos.
They called it science
and wrote all of life
as stated definition.
But there is far more
than conscripted degree
and laboratory principle.
There are the moments
that can break its course
and tear fabric of reality.
For when conscience
enters the equation
all parts are variable.
The human element
arises from the hot heart
and melts cold discipline.
It challenges time itself
to see if our emotions
travel the speed of light.
This new reaction
removes the rational
and adds the relational.
It bends our very limits
Serving not to be bound
by any delicate formula.
This compound isn’t new
but has been here longer
than science or man himself.
For this part stems back
to the original periodic table
where both fire and water once ruled.
A time when nature
could bring men together
even in their darkest hours.
A place where love
had stopped wars from starting
or from sides being drawn.
A thought which soared
not from calculation
but from within the soul.
For then men listened
to their hearts and their spirits
to govern their actions.
But when man found law
he forgot to order humanity
in his hierarchy of desires.
And so he blindly mixed
compounds of fear and conceit
into imbalanced solutions.
There is much man has done
in the cold name of science
that has cost him his brother.
But when science is warmed
by the element of humanity
all is at balance again.
For in this modern day
we ourselves must emote
as much as we do examine.
Aware of the new order
we realize that our mind
is over our matter.
So as you complete your high school career, remember that vision what you wished to be, and how that has now created Who You Are. Share your journey, share your vision, and share your story. All it requires is a little time to look back.
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
