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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 non-stop. 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 she easily made
friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she revelled 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. 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 humour 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
challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them
out in our daily lives.
At the years 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.
If you
read this, please send this peaceful word of advice to
your friends and family,
they'll really enjoy it! GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY,
GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
email from Jelo Erestain
