Graduation – What’s ahead?

By Dale Landrith

    In less than two months there will be hundreds of young folks graduating from our local high schools. Upon graduation some will enter the workforce and some will continue their education in trade schools or colleges. Very few, if any, will realize that they are about to begin a decision-making process that will affect the rest of their lives.

    Last fall an article by Lou Holtz appeared on a blog. Holtz is a Hall of Fame football coach. He is best known for his years at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana while taking his teams to nine successive bowl games. Successful college coaches must be adept at convincing young folks to make important decisions, work hard, and understand that they are entering a competitive world. Many of his players came from poor, underachieving backgrounds and ultimately excelled.
    What did Lou Holtz teach that inspired his players to perform? His recent article gives us some clues as to his philosophy.
    “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.”
    Young folks will learn that life is not fair. Bad things happen, even to good people. How do you respond? Much of society today is teaching that people are owed something, that there is supposed to be equality of outcome and that is simply not the case. Equality does not come from waiting for someone to give you something they took from someone else. “This type of equality denies the successful the consequences of their choices and spares the unsuccessful the consequences of their choices. Because, by and large, income variations in society are a result of different choices leading to different consequences.”
    “Those who choose wisely and responsibly have a far greater likelihood of success, while those who choose foolishly and irresponsibly have a far greater likelihood of failure.”
    Graduate from high school, get an entry level job (i.e. McDonalds, Walmart, convenience store) and use that employment as the stepping stone to the next level or the next job. Choose a career, continue your education in a trade school or college, and become a contributing and successful member of society. By getting involved with drugs, having children out of wedlock, and/or waiting for what is owed to you, one risks becoming dependant on the rest of society. For those who accept permanent societal dependence, they will only ever have the barest of necessities.
    The American Dream still exists for those who are willing to make good decisions and pursue that dream. “Success and failure usually manifest themselves in personal and family income. You choose to drop out of high school or to skip college – and you are apt to have a different outcome than someone who gets a diploma and pushes on with purposeful education.”
    “The simple Law of the Harvest – as ye sow, so shall ye reap – is sometimes applied as, ‘the harder you work, the more you get.’”
    It has become very unusual for employers to be able to find energetic, hard working new employees, especially in the young folks. Once again, find a job, any job and then show the employer that they made a good choice. Work hard and work smart. More often than not a person will be rewarded with advancement and wage increase.
    If the first choice does not suit you, then move on to the next job. It is always easier to get the next job while you are currently employed. It takes many people a series of jobs to find their place and their future.
    Hopefully, as our senior class of 2015 enters the real world, they will understand. “… there are two Americas. The America that works and the America that doesn’t. The America that contributes and the America that doesn’t. It’s not the haves and the have nots, it’s the dos and the don’ts. Some people do their duty as Americans, obey the law, support themselves, contribute to society and others don’t.”
    Remember what Lou Holtz said, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.”
    Dale Lindrith of Rockport is a member of a group of concerned Midcoast citizens who meet to discuss issues of public interest. Their weekly column “Another View” has been awarded by the Maine Press Association.