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urmiladuhan
November 23rd, 2002, 03:05 AM
COPIED FROM A WEBSITE

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The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged

us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look

around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a

wrinkled,little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her

entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can

I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course

you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at

such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to

meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids.." "No

seriously," I asked.

I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge

at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm

getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a

chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next

three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was

always

mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and

experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus

icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress

up and

she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students.

She

was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football

banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and

stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech,

she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a

little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm

sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is

killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell

you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing

because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only

four

secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have

to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you

lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are

dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing

older and

growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full

year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old.

If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do

anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't

take any

talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the

opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have

regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only

people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She

challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily

lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun

all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in

her

sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in

tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too

late to be all you can possibly be.

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

singhkapoor
November 23rd, 2002, 06:54 AM
URMILA JI

WONDERFUL...... I M SPEECHLESS....DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH WORDS TO COMPLIMENT ROSE AND HER DETERMINATION.

REALLY NICE

kapoor singh

dkumar
November 23rd, 2002, 12:20 PM
Hey ...peach of wisdom....gr8 work done by yourself to share it with we all!!!!!

Kudos to you!!!