more so than anything jake has ever tried to do up to this point, this has been the hardest. and by hardest i mean that which has demanded the most faith. EVERY other thing that he has gone thru has mostly been in his hands. if he was patient, or good, or followed his rehab, then we KNEW the outcome. we knew that he would get the desired results. this time, those results are ENTIRELY in someone else's hands. jake did his part. he worked hard. he did all the right things to put himself in a position to be successful. but ultimately, its out of his hands.
in light of that, BEFORE the big decision, i wanted to put down some thoughts. so he knows EITHER WAY how proud we are, and how amazing he is. so pretty much what follows is an open letter to my first born, on what he considers the first day of the rest of his life.
Johnny,
you know how proud we are of you and all you've accomplished. you know how much we love you for so many many reasons (which i won't embarrass you with in public). today i want you to realize that this is just one more turning point on the path you are traveling. whichever way it goes, i know you will make it work. your biggest strength in my opinion is your unwavering determination in the face of a challenge. today the challenge may be that you did not get into your first choice of school. or it may be that you did. both roads before you present DIFFERENT challenges, but i know you will rise to the occasion either way. its just what you do.
don't let this decision DEFINE you. whether you get accepted, denied or deferred....its just a decision, left in someone else's hands. someone that has never met you. who has never witnessed first hand your drive, or the power of your personality. maybe what you wrote swayed him. maybe it did not. but that is not within your ability to control. you did all you could to put yourself in the right place so that its even a possibility. YOU DID THAT! YOU made the choices that led you here. and you should be so PROUD. because what you do know is that you ARE qualified. you do meet the criteria. you are the caliber of student that can attend a school like princeton. and THAT is what you should remember today. you set yourself up to be in the best possible position FOR YOU. maybe that is at princeton...and maybe its not. but everything you've done to give yourself the chance is what makes you successful.
Success is piece of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.—
i want you to look at how you've grown and all you've accomplished already. and all you've overcome. and i want you to see that every time you hit what seemed to be a huge roadblock, you grew from it. princeton will be tough- either way. if you don't get it in, it will be a challenge to understand why not and what the bigger lesson you should get from it is.....but if you do get in, the challenge will be stepping up to the plate in that learning environment. it will mean MORE work. something i know you are prepared for and capable of, but a challenge nonetheless.
today BEFORE you find out, i just want you to take a minute and reflect. re-prioritize this moment in your mind. because as important as it is RIGHT NOW, in the bigger cosmic picture, its just another fork in the road.
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
|
And sorry I could not travel both
|
And be one traveler, long I stood
|
And looked down one as far as I
could
|
To where it bent in the
undergrowth;
|
Then took the other, as just as
fair,
|
And having perhaps the better
claim,
|
Because it was grassy and wanted
wear;
|
Though as for that the passing
there
|
Had worn them really about the
same,
|
And both that morning equally lay
|
In leaves no step had trodden
black.
|
Oh, I kept the first for another
day!
|
Yet knowing how way leads on to
way,
|
I doubted if I should ever come
back.
|
I shall be telling this with a sigh
|
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
|
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
I—
|
I took the one less traveled by,
|
And that has made all the
difference.
|
no one know which road you will take. or which one is the less travelled for that matter. remember the way you see something ALWAYS depends on where you are standing. don't lose your perspective!
When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself. Jacques Yves Cousteau
lead your EXTRAORDINARY life!! run with PASSION down the road that presents itself before you. don't spend your time looking back at what ifs or if onlys. RUN YOUR RACE. the one that is ONLY YOURS to win!!
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. ~George Washington Carver
BE KIND....you have a good heart. a strong heart. you are compassionate and brave. don't lose sight of the impact your life has on others. always always be YOU.
The Universe is one great kindergarten for man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. Orison Swett Marden
remember to LEARN the LESSON that circumstance is teaching you. and that there is ALWAYS a lesson. for each situation, good and bad. step outside of how it FEELS and see what it is you can get from it. remember knee surgery ultimately brought you drama. good from bad. sometimes you just can't see it right away. NEVER STOP LEARNING!!
The time is always right to do what is right. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet
be a leader. not a problem for you, i know. but more than where you go to school or what you decide to be when you grow up, the biggest challenge facing you is to continue to BE A GOOD MAN. set a good example. make the hard choices. do the right thing. be strong in your convictions, but open to other points of view. always be open to the possibility that there is a better answer or different solution. being open minded will allow you to be kind and to do the right thing :)
HAVE FAITH! i know this one is hard for you sometimes. you can question certainly. you can even be skeptical if you must. but ultimately you have to have faith. faith in love, in truth, in happiness.....all things you can't touch or see. you feel them. its your faith in the abstract that will drive you to keep looking for answers and striving to be better. trust and faith go hand in hand and i hope you walk with both.
and finally, i hope you always keep in mind that this life we have is a gift. its often shorter than we hope. don't spend your time on regret. choose to be happy whenever you can. celebrate your family...your friends. appreciate what you give to them and what they give to you. LOVE LIFE. embrace EVERY minute of it.....dont look back....look forward. see opportunity everywhere. be open to love. just be YOU :)
i love you bud. with all my heart. and i couldn't be any more proud of the man you are. the future is bright. whichever way it takes you, just grab it with both hands!
xoxo,
mom
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