My brother graduated from high school the other day. I couldn’t help but cry, because we went straight from a loss at baseball Regional finals to the gymnasium for the ceremony. The principal Mr. Edinger spoke for the class. He summed up their education and accomplishments along with some advice in about 20 minutes, but those twenty minutes had to be the most uplifting minutes of my life. He spoke about existence and what really matters, starting with a quote from the speaker that spoke at my graduation (in 2007.) He said “When you read a tomb stone, it has the name, the date of birth, and the date of death. The hyphen between the dates represents your entire life. The only thing that leaves the grave with the mourners is your character.”
He continued with how your entire life is your portfolio, and that is how you build character. Too many people go day to day saying they want the biggest house and the nicest car, the best job, the most money, and all the riches in the world. What does any of that mean when receiving the bad news of a lump in your breast, or when you find out your father has only one week to live? Even if you have everything in the world, you can still be alone. Being rich doesn’t mean having money but having friends.
My good friend from high school lost her dad the other day. I attended the showing and it was the hardest thing to know she’s my age and now has to live without her daddy. A day later another good friend was told his dad had less than a week. He was told on a Friday and the following Friday was graduation. I can’t even tell you how much sorrow was in my heart for him.
Jefferson’s principal ended his speech with his life lesson. “What do you want to mourners to see in your hyphen? Change the world. You are our future. My favorite animal is the turtle, because to move they have to stick their neck out, and in life, you will have to stick your neck out too. Good Luck.”
It may not make sense to you, but the biggest lesson I took from that night at my brother’s graduation is life is what you make it. College is only a small part of your hyphen, so have fun but keep in mind what really matters.

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I’m finally back in my home town, and I’m having a bit of a hard time with the change. I never thought that I would say it but “I miss school.”
I really am glad to be close with my family again, but it really feels like I left another family behind. It’s a huge shock factor when you are used to living with your peers and moving back in with your parents and siblings. Your norm is on a rollercoaster. The first day I walked in I remember a few of the questions

Dad: “Monica can I text more than one person at a time?”
Mom: “The wireless isn’t working do you want to sit down and fix it?”
Dad: “Monica can you tell me why the printer isn’t printing the top line?”
Mom: “How do I get the camera focused and keep it that way so you are ready for a picture?”
Mom: “On Photoshop how can I turn a picture so it’s not so blurry?”

These questions make me wonder how they ever lived without me for as long as they did. It’s quite a culture difference from one extreme to the next, but over all your parents are going to miss you when you go away to college. A few things to keep in mind before you go.

1. Don’t be shy when it comes to calling your mom. She really enjoys hearing from you, and she’s always a good one to call when you need to know how to make homemade mashed potatoes.
2. Your dad knows a thing or two about life too. When you have a problem, don’t hesitate to ask what you should do. It’s always better to know then to guess.
3. Even though he may not show it, your dad wants to know how you’re doing in school too. He may not always ask you but a phone call or text message is always a good thing. (Dads get left out sometimes. People preach mostly about calling your mom)
4. Keep in mind they need help too. They are just learning (texting, emailing, skype) what you and I already have mastered, and because you are moving away to college they want to learn it for you.
5. Don’t always view your mom, as bother sum when she’s asking all those questions. Just keep in mind when you have those same questions, she may not answer you.

In general keep in touch. It really helps out when things are rough and keeps home sickness far from the pit of your stomach.

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Finals week is finally over but let me tell you once finals are done and you think the worst of your worries are over, they for the most part just begin. I finished my finals early on Thursday but on account of working for STARS, I had to stay and attend a meeting on Friday evening. We had an 80’s theme party/meeting and although I was bummed about staying it was a lot of fun.
I started on Monday packing up all of my stuff, to start the process of moving out. I took a trip home the weekend before delivering all of the stuff I didn’t think that I would need, or the odds and ends that I had picked up during the 10 months that I lived in Fort Wayne. I told mom and dad that I thought since I made that trip, that everything would fit into my car, and that they wouldn’t have to drive from Ohio to help me pack up and move out. After my theatre final on Thursday I started to pack up my car with everything that I didn’t need for my last day. I piled everything else in my living room in boxes, and one by one I started to feel uneasy about my decision. The pile soon became a big one and I knew that it was going to be a puzzle to fit all of my left over stuff into my car.
Friday morning I got up bright and early and started to load the boxes and bags into my car. Before I knew it, I was no longer able to open my trunk on account of things would fall out because it was just so full. It wasn’t too much longer before my back seat was the same way. I started to panic as I walked back up making my 10th trip up the stairs and saw the pile, smaller but still not small enough. From there I carried down one box at a time, and tried several times to rearrange things to make it all fit. I was down to the last three and I started to take things out of boxes to fill in all the cracks of my car. (I drive a very small car the way it is, so by this time it really looked hilarious.) My final trip down the stairs was made, I turned in my keys and I started to make my trek home to Ohio.
My advice to any new freshman would be to make sure you have someone that can help you move out. It’s scary when to see out your passenger window you have to move a lamp shade.

lucascarterphotography.com

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)