The Skyliner

Issue date: 11/29/06 Section: Opinion

"We all got to grow up sometime." My mom used to say that to me all the time, whether it was because I was afraid of growing up or afraid of letting go of childhood things like my stuffed animal at the age of 18. As I write my final article, I hear that echo in my mind. I'm reaching the end of a chapter in my life. I have to turn the page and continue to grow up.

Life was so much simpler when all you had to do was prove your manhood by making it from one end of the monkey bars to the other. I used to try and impress girls in elementary school by eating ants and making it seem like it was cool. Of course, girls want to kiss something where a bug had just been. The simplistic life of elementary school was really living. Go to school, have a nap time and come home to eat fruit roll-ups as you watch Fragglerock.

In middle school, life got harder the second letters started appearing in math. That rocked my world of addition and subtraction, not to mention having a different teacher for every subject. Impressing the girls meant writing some amazing poetry that was far beyond "circle circle, dot dot," but included circling "yes, no, or maybe."

Then, high school hit me like a ton of bricks. I was the definition of a "geek" in public school terms. Being a member of the marching band and vice president of the Bible Club, and riding the bus were no longer cool.

My first car was a 1982 Chevy Impala, or "Bubba" as my family named it. This tank of a car was a beast that shook when it approached 55 mph. Impressing the ladies meant a great car, great body and a sex drive. I struck out immediately.

College life either makes or breaks you. It prepares you for the world beyond the gates of the school. A place we look forward to since day one of the first semester. For me, it hasn't been easy. I was homesick the first two weeks, failed New Testament without trying, cheated on my girlfriend, began walking hand-in-hand with controversy and being misunderstood for it and my GPA was a 2.4. This was all in my first year. For my second year, I got another relationship but got dumped, ran into trouble on campus and took it all out on God. I underestimated Him.

Now, I'm in my final year. A lot of people will be graduating in December and others in May. But when each of you looks back, will you have regrets? Despite all that I've done, good and bad, I have no regrets because every choice I've made has turned me into the man I've become. Monkey bars have nothing on life's bigger tests. I've had one passion since I've been here, and that was to reach each of you through my writing. Maybe I've succeeded and maybe I haven't, but I know God called me to do so.

With my final words, I leave a challenge and my prayer. Don't let people influence who you are or who you want to be. If you have a passion to do something, do everything not to let that flame die. Some of you are making choices that will forever change your life. I know because I've made some of those choices. I'm a man that has been gifted by God's grace. I'm in a pure relationship with the woman of my dreams; I look to carry my passion of writing to people outside these hills and impact the church and world that appear to be dying. I'm reaching the end of my chapter at NGU. "We all got to grow up sometime."

Well then, I'm turning the page.

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