T minus 2 weeks

In two weeks my son will graduate from College. It is finally upon us. Classes are over, and it is the week of final exams. He is very busy studying right now, and cannot wait for this week to be over. Finals do drain every ounce of energy out of a student, and then squeeze for a little more. But what my son does not know, is that after graduation, comes the biggest exam he has ever encountered. Life.

College is but a mere stepping stone to life. He has learned much information, asked plenty of questions, learned to cooperate with people he doesn't know or really like, and still succeed at the tasks handed to him. All those important skills needed for life. He doesn't know it yet, but the learning was easy. Now he has to count on the learning, and use the skills he practiced over the last four years.

College years are so important. We laugh at these kids, it is their first time trying to be someone. New hair styles, and wacky clothes are just two of the silly things that college students are known to change on themselves. I am fortunate that neither my son or daughter did much more that that. I know it could have been much worse. But now it is time for him to think about a new wardrobe; he'll have to give up the shorts and flipflops for more conventional clothing once he finds a job. But he won't forget the people he met, the adventures they had, nor the memories that are his own. That is what college is really all about.

In two weeks, my son will have a single sheet of paper, with his name embossed on it. That single piece of paper is his ticket to his future. He doesn't know it yet, but that paper signifies something that he did, all on his own, and to his best ability. It says that, despite all the odds and difficulties he has had, he is a winner. He is ready and able to soar into his future.

T minus 2 weeks, and we will have lift off.