Dreams

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 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 share 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 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.