Your future awaits I came across an old coffee mug in the bottom of a Tupperware box while cleaning out my childhood bedroom. It read Benjamin Russell High School Class of 2003 on one side and the other listed out all of the names of my graduating class. I put it in my keep pile. May signifies the end and the beginning for graduating seniors. All school-age children, but especially the teens of the past two years, have been asked to adapt to change far sooner than expected. Normal would have been the typical scene of your parents dropping you off in a dorm room with a microwave, a stack of Hot Pockets and $20. To be able to pivot in a classroom setting is no different than pivoting in the business arena. Once again, it all comes back to mindset and the brute strength of character, all of which are not Lacey Howell taught between the pages of a book. The most successful people, in my experience, have been the ones who can handle change. I think the pandemic will make for exciting future leaders. It will be interesting to see what kind of inventors, politicians and thinkers will emerge out of Gen Z, the Tik Tok era – born with iPhones in hand and an already captivated audience. How will they capitalize on that? They have been self-branding their entire lives. There is plenty of talk about how four-year universities will change and how many students view the four-year college route as not the only option. And it is not the only option. I am 15 years removed from my own college graduation, but I can tell you that no matter what road you walk after you walk off the BRHS field, it is all about exposing yourself to experience and meeting as many new people as you possibly can. And you have to do that on foot, not behind a screen. There is no one road to success, but you do have to choose a route and commit full-heartedly to the pursuit of bettering yourself. It could be a four- or two-year school, trade school or work that is so interesting that no one will ever ask you about a diploma. I always tell young people that the whole point of college is showing that you can finish something without someone forcing your hand. You do it for yourself. Do not put yourself in a box. Do
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not worry about labels like doctor, lawyer or engineer; just major in what you are good at and finish. By labeling yourself, you limit yourself. No matter where you land, dear seniors, I implore you to make as many new friends as possible. Build a network of people who are vastly different from you because that is where the magic happens. And although it is not apparent now, in 20 years, those are the people you will be doing business with, whatever that business may be. People remember how you treated them and how you made them feel. Oh, and have a little fun, too, while you are at it! Kelsea Ballerini’s country song Half of my Hometown is so true: So stay or leave Part of me will always be Half of my hometown Half of my hometown Back roads raise us Highways take us Memories make us wanna go back When I took off to Auburn University in the fall of 2003, I had a Nokia instead of an iPhone. There were handwritten directions to the beach in the glove box. And Facebook didn’t yet exist. I met two new girls on Day 1, one was from Birmingham, and one was from Chicago. The Birmingham friend helped me get my first job, and I sold Chicago a lake house last summer. Good luck seniors; know that your hometown will always cheer for you. ~Lacey Howell is a recovering English major from Auburn who now lives on Lake Martin, sells real estate, rides horses and loves good wine. Follow her at Instagram @LaceyHowell and on her Facebook page.
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