My parents have an annual scholarship they give in my sister, Kaysy's, name. She passed away 19 years ago, but it's been given to a student every year at Bayless High School since 2012. And I remember this because my parents were attending a fundraiser with David Freeze, Matt Carpenter, Mike Methany and Tony LaRussa leaving me to be the one who gave out the first award that year. To be honest, I would've rather been hanging with the Cardinals, but it was a special occasion and the kid who received our first scholarship was truly grateful. You can read more about that in my original blog post from that date.
Every year my mom makes copies of all the submissions and gives them to the 6 of us to review (well... most years it's just been my sister, my dad and me... but as the girls have grown older, Bryn and my niece... Kaysy's daughter, have also been included).
We all read the submissions and vote on who we think should receive the scholarship money.
Every year my mom comes up with 2 essay questions that's somewhat relevant to what's going on in the world around us. They can choose to answer either one and then there's always something on there asking what their favorite high school class is and why.
This year the question posed was this:
Life gives us good times and bad. There are two ways to handle your fear: FORGET EVERYTHING AND RUN or FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE.
Please share your triumphs and challenges through either:
- Your high school years and experiences OR
- Your experiences and lessons with the COVID Pandemic
Most answered about the Pandemic and to be perfectly honest... reading all the submissions was depressing. I've written a few times about how the chaos of COVID has affected me personally, especially with regard to my job, but reading these student's perspectives inspired me to write again.
Here's some excerpts of what they had to say:
"However, when we started the 2020-2021 school year with online learning, a lot of people here, myself heavily included, struggled significantly with keeping up with school work."
"I was ecstatic to be able to return to school because I didn't want my senior year of high school to be virtual. We must practice social distancing, which leaves me feeling a little empty. Despite that emptiness, I continue to do my best to adjust to the situation every day."
"Learning was hard through a screen, and even now with being back in full time in-person, there is still a barrier with masks on. The feeling of not being back to normal still holds an anchor on my heart, and the atmosphere does not feel the same."
"Education is not the only thing that has been affected by COVID, however. During my Junior year, I was going to play Varsity volleyball, and our season got cut short. We hadn't even played a game yet, and then we got the call that said we were indefinitely quarantined. And now, after two years, I finally got to play a real game with my team, and we won after a hard fought battle."
"A couple weeks in quarantine, I noticed how lazy and less productive of a person I became. I often saw myself procrastinate and not take things as seriously as I once did."
"I learned that obstacles are here in our lives for us to overcome and strive as better people and to build personality."
"COVID took all the things that motivated and kept me busy away from me. Weeks in I noticed that I started to gain weight, become lazy and wasn't as engaged in school as I was before the pandemic."
"Overall I learned to not take things for granted and to enjoy my life to the fullest."
"As much as I'd like to say the experiences were bitter sweet, they cost me to lose a lot of my real high school experiences."
"Relationships have been the turning point for the whole COVID experience. Friends and family have backed me up throughout the whole year and made sure my emotions were where they needed to be. Without them, I would still be at my lowest point in my life. School was unmotivating and relationships were dying. I think I am mature enough to call myself independent, but without the relationships you build along the way, more problems in life would occur and those would be even harder to face than they are now."
Relationships matter.
Positive happy relationships matter.
Who you surround yourself with matters.
In-person conversations matter.
Getting off your phone or your computer and engaging with others in person matters.
Hugs matter.
Unmasked smiles on the faces of strangers in the grocery store matters.
The energy in a room full of people matters.
Doing things that bring you joy matters.
Our mental health matters just as much as our physical health.
We each play a role in someone else's life. We are all "essential" in someone else's life.
Surrounding yourself with people who not only bring out the best in you, but also with those who might test you in ways that can only make you grow and learn, matters.
Like teachers, for instance. Or... like people who God has decided needed to be in your life and part of your journey for one reason or another.
FEAR can be debilitating.
It can cause anyone to initially want to forget everything and run. It is, in fact, the easier way out.
Whether it's fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of success, fear of love, fear of people judging you, fear of forgiveness, fear of moving on, fear of healing, fear of a freakin virus... whatever it is for you.
I've wanted to run many times throughout my life. God has a way of continuing to bring you back into similar scenarios over and over again though, until you finally decide to face things and rise.
And it really does come down to that simple choice. Are you going to face your stuff and rise? Or are you going to keep re-reading that same chapter you've been stuck on in your life... that same pity party where you change nothing and nothing changes.
The matching tattoos that Bryn and I got before she left for her freshman year at Mizzou are part of my favorite Bible verse and one I've relied on and repeated throughout many challenging moments...
"She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."
Proverbs 31:25
If you're still taking the time you have left here on earth for granted, you may not have learned much from COVID.
It's all temporary.
The good times and the bad times.
Life itself is temporary.
What we choose to do with that time and the positive or negative impact we have on the world and those in it, is on US though, every day we RISE out of bed and decide what attitude to bring to the day.
Or better yet... what gratitude you bring to the day...
XOXO
