My Advice to High School Graduates Going to College

Graduation Time!

'Tis the time for graduations both of the high school and college variety. Saturday was rather special. My Alma Mater, Southern Nazarene University, held its Commencement ceremony. I had a niece who graduated this year, and that was special enough, but what made this one very special was that my university gave an honorary diploma to my nephew Spencer Lee who died last year of Ewing's sarcoma cancer after a six year battle with the disease. His mother and father, my brother, was there as well as every member of my immediate family and several other relatives as well.

Afterwards, we went over to Bethany 1st Nazarene Church for a family luncheon. My father and mother who are 80 and 78 respectively were able to come down from Seattle to attend.

Sunday, my wife and I traveled up the turnpike to Tulsa to attend a graduation Sunday service and party for our niece from my wife's side of the family. She graduated from Union High School in Tulsa-Broken Arrow on Friday. On Sunday, her church, Tulsa Central Church of the Nazarene honored their graduates. Her parents, Ed and Cheryl, my wife's sister, hosted a reception her. She will go to the University of Oklahoma and major in Drama and Theatre Tech.

I have but one bit of advice for all high school graduates going to college: Study Scared. When I went to college, I assumed that everyone there was far more prepared for college than I was. I felt I needed to study twice as hard just to keep up with them. And that was about right.