歪歪漫画

Never quit! That鈥檚 my advice to students in grades 9 to 12.

Regardless of how much you hate school. Never quit. Despite a bully or two, never quit. A teacher may never say your name, but never quit. Your attendance may be poor, make it better and never quit. Your grades may not be the greatest, work harder but never quit. You may feel like quitting school, but never, never quit.

What will happen if you quit? Nothing. You will still be you. You may, however, not get the job you want. You may not make enough money to buy a house. You may not feel good about yourself, but you will survive. You will, however, regret quitting for the rest of your life. That鈥檚 a promise.

Ask anyone who has quit school and never received their high school diploma. They will tell you the truth. Life is filled with choices. Make good ones. Graduate!

Graduates need to hear the facts of life from people who have experienced it, aside from their teachers. In the past several weeks, my Red Lake High 歪歪漫画 HOPE class students listened to various speakers who gave them words of wisdom.

The speakers included Thomas Barrett Jr., Michele Brielmaier, Nicole Desjarlait, Shelly Fredriksen, Randy Holthusen, Floyd Jourdain, Tim Lutz, Leo Soukup, Henry "Ginew Giizhik" Flocken and Delana Smith.

Here is what they said:

Dream.
Enjoy learning.
Be proud of yourself.
Do different things.
Like what you do.
Get to know who you are.
Enjoy learning new things.
Learn everything about your culture.
Take care of your body.
Know your treaties.
We are very lucky to be part of the Red Lake Nation.
Dream big.
We can do anything we want to do.
Be a lifelong learner.
Know the eight teachings of Anishinaabe.
We have choices.
Relationships are important. You have to commit to them.
You have to work at life.
College is stressful. You can handle it.
Know what it means to have a work ethic.
Know the Ojibwa values.
Everything in life is a lesson.
Practice resilience.
Finish what you do.
What lessons are you learning?
Pray for good times. We all have hard times.
歪歪漫画 may be a drag sometimes. Stay with it.
There are lots of options after graduation.
A strong work ethic means more than talent.
Have something to look forward to.
Be inspired.
Ask yourself, 鈥淲ho do you admire?鈥� Use that person as a role model.
Never give up hope.
Get to see what college is like. Try it.
Things may not always go your way, but hope will keep you alive.
Practice winning.
To win at anything, you have to think winning.
The more you practice the greater the chance that you will win.
Don鈥檛 carry negativity around with you.
Discover who you are. Begin loving yourself.
We walk this road together.
Education will help you get where you wish to go.
Think about goals. They will help you graduate.
You have to love what you do.
People will like you because of who you are, not because of fame or fortune.

I had the pleasure of recently attending Bethel Lutheran and St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church as part of my quest to visit every church in Bemidji. I appreciated Pastor Mark鈥檚 sermon on St. Thomas; it was inspiring and educational. Also, what a wonderful cello player at Bethel!

Pastor Tim Megorden at St. Bartholomew鈥檚 mentioned the qualities of the recently deceased Pope Francis and how wonderful it was to see so many world leaders at his funeral. United at last.

Both congregations made me feel at home. Thank you. It鈥檚 what we all need: to feel at home.

Riddle: To whom do we all have to take our hats off to? (Answer: a barber/hair stylist. Hats off to two outstanding congregations that help make Bemidji a better community. Thanks, miigwech, gracias.)

Graduation is upon us. We need to work smarter to make this once-in-a-lifetime occasion happen for everyone.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.