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Inspirational
Stories
Growing Up vs. Growing Old
by Author Unknown
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged
us to get 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 nonstop.
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 reveled
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 humor everyday.
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.
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