Why on God’s good earth did I return to school? What do I want to be when I grow up? Who needs a degree and what will I truly gain from it? I’m the old man on campus, the “Graying Golden Grizzly.” At the age of 54, I’m older than most of my fellow student’s parents. I met with my adviser last week and discovered that I have college credits older than she is. We talked about the First Gulf War in class last night and no one else remembered it. I need to hang with a crowd that doesn’t think Fleetwood Mac is a Cadillac dealer. “If I could I would give you my world”, these students do not want my world.
Now I’m aimlessly roaming the campus participating in a Writer’s Marathon. It’s cold out here! At least I’m not forced to sit on a yellow line in the middle of an asphalt road and write. However, in my first year at OU I have met some outstanding young men and women. I am impressed by their character and moral fiber. These are the people that will need to clean up the messes and face the problems my generation has left behind. My generation will be the first that is known more for what it did not destroy than for what it built.
Their generation will be forced to repair the planet. They must make the hard choices that the majority in my generation refused to face. These students have the compassion and the caring to move forward. I observe them placing friendships above possessions. They know that “the best things in life aren’t things.” It is a privilege to study with them and I am blessed when they call me a friend (or just the old guy).
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