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Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2022

High School Memories and Porcupine Quills

Years ago when I attended Catholic high school they sponsored what's called a “Retreat”. It's an event where you just … get away! It lasted for about a week. You don't have to go to class, you have no access to telephones or television or radio. Back then we didn't have cell phones or the Internet or video games. The Retreat was for spiritual growth and spending quiet moments in meditation and praying to God. We had group sessions where we candidly discussed our thoughts and read scriptures.


And since it was a bunch of silly immature high schools girls stuck in one place with not much to do you could visit each other's rooms, have pajama parties and pillow fights, style each other's hair, paint each other's nails, and stay up most of the night laughing and talking about insignificant things. We could do that until the nuns came and told is we had to turn off the lights and go to sleep. LOL.


The place where the retreat was held was absolutely mind-blowing. I wish I had taken a photograph. But cameras were also not allowed. One thing I remember was a particular flower that grew in the garden. I had never seen it before and nobody seemed to know the name. When asked to describe it, I said “It's looks like pretty pink porcupine quills with white and gold tips.”


Well! Thanks to the Internet, I found a photo of that lovely flower and it brought back some nice memories. The flower is called Crimson Bottlebrush. OK. Yeah. It sort of looks like a bottlebrush. LOL.


Image credit: KeiraSoleore on Twitter

Hope your day is as lovely as this flower.

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How to Grow Bottlebrush | Gardener’s Path 




Original source

Friday, May 29, 2020

A Salute to the Graduates of 2020! (And Beyond!)

In the USA, when you reach age 17 or18, you’re usually in 12th grade, which is your last year of high school. You’re a senior! It’s a pivotal moment of transition in life when you slide right into adulthood.


glitter-graphics.com

But even though you are a “brand new adult”, if you were like me, you still didn’t have to pay the rent or face other responsibilities because …? Because you still live at home with your parents.


It has been decades. I graduated from high school in the 70s. But I can remember my high school graduation was a big deal! My mother, my aunts, my brothers, and sister attended the ceremony, took pictures, everybody was smiling and happy! I don’t remember getting any gifts. That’s OK. We weren’t that financially well off. It’s enough that I have good memories of that day. 



I even remember the summer after I graduated I didn’t even get a job. I just stayed at home the whole summer. My mom let me enjoy those last few months of freedom with no responsibility. Then when September came I registered to start classes at the university and life carried on, but … IN A MAJOR WAY. It was my first real step towards independence. Got checked into my dorm room, registered for classes, signed up for a part-time college work-study job, and there was no parent or teacher there nagging and telling me what to do. If something needed to be done, it was all on me!

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This post is inspired by the fact that my last child, my daughter, graduated from high school, Class of 2019. Woo Hoo! Her first year of college is not what she imagined.  This post is also dedicated to the high school graduating Class of 2020.  Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that transition for my daughter and for you has not exactly been smooth.  But the transition is happening.  Pandemic or no pandemic.  You're on the move now!

For each class of seniors, no matter what the year, it always takes me back to my own graduation ceremony.  I think I get more excited than the graduating class. Sharing some wise quotes to encourage all graduates and set them on the right path. Hoping and praying for your success!

“Stay on the course, never lose focus.”

In Hindi, they don’t say Congratulations! They say “Mujhe tum logo kiyadd bilkul nahi aayegi” which means “You’ve achieved success!”

“…Don’t wait for the future to change you, change your future.”

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”








Content previously published at Virily.com

Monday, May 6, 2019

Celebrating Graduation: When did you suddenly realize that you were an adult?

“There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” ~Orrin Hatch ( Quote Source )


When did you suddenly realize that you were an adult?



Do you remember the day you graduated from high school?

High school graduation is a particularly special time for a teenager. They are getting ready to make life decisions for themselves, on their own. No more asking permission to go out. You're about to be fully in charge of your social schedule, your academic responsibilities, and …??? … you might even have to work!!

How did I know I had graduated and had officially entered the adult world?

One day, at my part-time college work-study job, one of the office workers announced it was break time and asked me if I wanted some coffee.
That was it! My transition into adulthood. At that moment, it dawned on me that the decision was mine to make for myself! My mom's permission was not needed to drink coffee. Growing up, in our house, children drinking coffee had been forbidden. Obeyed that house rule from about 5 years old until my teen years. Never even thought to disobey my mom.  :)

When did you suddenly realize that you were an adult?


I graduated from high school in 1972 and had made a decision to pursue a degree at a university in my hometown.  Every time I see a class of high school seniors the memory of my own graduation ceremony comes back to me.
●  For the record, although sports is not my thing, I do know who Shaquille O'Neal is and FYI … Shaquille O'Neal Earned His Doctorate from Barry UniversityThe very same Barry University where my high school graduation ceremony was held. Just thought to mention it!
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Content also appears at Persona Paper.

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