It's back-to-school time at Boys Town and across America. Every year, the beginning of the school year reminds me of the importance of learning to accept, adapt and grow – not only in school, but in life.
The school year will undoubtedly bring new challenges and opportunities for students and our goal is to teach them to successfully navigate both. Learning to accept, adapt and grow from life's experiences is key. As the Serenity Prayer so beautifully reads, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
I am reminded of a story from the bible of a frustrated, but persistent farmer. The land the farmer had to work with wasn't the greatest. It was filled with hungry birds, rocky ground and thorns. Each of these frustrations required a different response. The fact that the birds will eat some of the seed is something that the farmer had to accept. The rocky ground and thorns would still grow plants, but the farmer had to adapt the soil by moving the rocks and thorns to help his crop to grow. Finally, his ability to accept and adapt helped his crops to grow and produced a nice harvest, making his efforts worthwhile.
The past few years of my life have left me feeling a lot like this farmer. In December, 2020, I had my left knee replaced and in November, 2021, I had back surgery. Each of these surgeries involved frustrations that have required me to make changes and respond in different ways. “Accept, adapt and grow" became my mantra.
- Accept: My doctor said it would be best if I gave up golfing. This was easy to accept because I realized that I basically hated it anyway.
- Adapt: One of the things I have always loved to do is to go to the mountains and rock climb. My doctors told me those days are over. My response to this has been to adapt by replacing climbing with hiking and fly fishing. I still get to enjoy the mountains, just in a different way.
- Grow: Lastly, my doctor told me I could not bend down and pick strawberries from my garden. He suggested, instead, that I could build a raised garden bed, so I didn't have to bend over. This also would allow me to put a cover on it to keep out the pests. This means my strawberries will now grow better than ever and I'll continue to enjoy them for years to come.
When dealing with frustrations you need to be determined, so that you can accept what cannot be changed, adapt to your new normal and see the opportunity to grow through it all.
As we start a new school year, I promise you that there will be frustrations. Our new Boys Town kids, for example, will quickly realize how much their life at Boys Town is different than the life they lived back home. Each of these frustrations will require a different response:
- Accept: Some things you will just have to accept like rules and consequences. It's not always easy, but you will adjust and come to realize that is a part of life
- Adapt: Other frustrations will require adaptations. New schools, new friends and new expectations require that you learn to successfully navigate change and move forward in new ways.
- Grow: Lastly, you may just realize that learning to accept and adapt provides the opportunity for personal growth and enables you to thrive.
Despite life's challenges and frustrations, we all must encourage each other to move forward. I know that by accepting and adapting, this new school year will provide opportunities for genuine growth and personal accomplishments. Cheers to a new school year!
