What's next?

As the senior class of 2019 inches closer to that day they have prepared for the last 18 or so years, they can now visualize the ceremony, walking down the aisle, family gathered and grasping the diploma in their own sweaty hands. The question they must ask themselves, as hundreds will ask them: “What’s next?”

Many will already know, but many more will have uncertainties still. Some have locked in their schooling and will be looking to the University of Idaho, Eastern, WSU and community colleges around the state. Others are picking up a hammer, a nozzle or work gloves and will put in a year of hard labor before making a decision. A few will start their internships in carpentry, mechanics and electrical. Then there are some that just don’t know yet. And that is OK.

For 13 years of schooling we have told kids what to say, how to think, what to wear, where to go, how long to stay, how to play the game, how to win and how to lose. We have taught them out of a textbook written by someone else who thinks they know better than others. We have established rules for their own good and safety. We, as a collective nation of adults, have told our youth we know better, and now you do this. Then they graduate.

Wide-eyed and full of excitement, they step into the next chapter and finally take their own breath of the air of adulthood. They will navigate the waters, make mistakes, discover themselves, learn hard and good lessons and look for answers. In reality, they will set aside most of what has been taught them and they will experience some life things for the very first time. Laundry, yardwork, showing up on time and feeding a pet become a real thing with no one coming along behind them to pick up, follow up, get them up or lift them up on a daily basis. The world becomes real.

Paying bills, filling a gas tank, feeding a face, and face-to-face communication becomes normal and a necessity. Stress of life is not fixed with a nap anymore. This is where we start to see if the lessons thrown at them as a student stuck to them and they rally up and respond to the challenge.

But if they fail, it is OK. Because that is where the biggest life lessons are learned. No money in the bank, no food in the fridge, no gas in the tank and the phone bill was not paid. Exam in the morning, working late tonight, relationship issues and it’s mom’s birthday. Stress at its highest level creates the biggest life lessons that cannot be taught in school.

Life will throw you a curveball from time to time, and we either have to adjust our swing to make contact or we learn not to swing at all. The true education starts as they leave high school, and all the safety nets that are there, and step into this great big world with only our own strategies to rely on. Yes, there will be some instant successes, but there will also be pits of despair along the way. How do we respond when we get punched in the mouth and are down on the mat? My best advice for you is to get up and keep getting up. Persevere. Conquer the giant in front of you. Don’t stop running the race. If you need help, ask for it. If you need a mentor, look for them. If you need saving, grab the hand of the savior. Today may look impossible, but tomorrow holds a fresh outlook.

We do not always know what tomorrow brings, but this we know for sure: We can learn from it. Sometimes, when we take a step of faith, we will discover the right path was there the whole time. So just keep stepping.