This blog post probably seems to come out of left field. It is a strange thing to write about but it set heavy on my heart this morning as I was editing some pictures. I have said it before but one of my favorite things about my job is the ability to be with the families of the kids I grew up with. I get to be there when they get married, when they have babies, and when they celebrate their lives. In thinking about that, I began thinking about high school. How even though I enjoyed my experience I wish I could back and do a few things differently. Graduation season is here and there are a lot of young people about to step out into the world of independance and life. It will be an AMAZING experience and most will find that they will discover who they REALLY are. They will find like minded people – soul mates – Those friendships that will last a lifetime! They get to CHOSE who those people are. I saw something on Facebook the other day, it said something like, I discovered the only reason we were friends is cause I saw them 5 days a week. I am lucky in that a lot of the people i graduated with are still close friends to this day. But how true is that statememnt! In a small town like mine, we had spent the last 12-13 years of our lives with the same people day in and day out. It was ALL we knew. Hearing that the world was such a bigger place meant NOTHING.  THAT WAS our world and the concept of time and there being a time when that wouldn’t be our life was not even conceivable. Everyone knows the rules of high school. The cliques and the pecking order. Each culture has its’ own set of obstacles to overcome. These days the big word you hear is “bullying”. Sadly, I will admit that I was on both sides of this coin. Though no where NEAR what is happening today, I experienced and handed out our generation’s version of it. I am ashamed of my actions and not too long ago came face to face with a situation that I had long forgotten but was still on the heart of someone else. In highschool your world is SO small. Adults tell teenagers all the time “There is a big world out there”. It is SO true. If I could make real any one thing in the minds of these kids it would be that one thing. Life teaches you SO MANY valuable lessons between the ages of 18 and 25. Discovering who you are and that the world is so much bigger than high school is one of the greatest gifts people receive. It breaks my heart that our culture has become so engrossed in the “microwave mentality” (gotta happen NOW) that they will rob themselves of this experience. Teen suicide has sky rocketed. Bullying – the crazy kind of bullying – is almost normal. That scares me for my kids. I don’t know what the solution is. Social media, media, Hollywood, and this new obsession with self has taken the normal High School experience to crazy, psycho levels. Teens are making permanent decisions based on temporary circumstances. Very few people are who they were in High School. Second chances are SO important! Yes there are exceptions to the rule, but MOST people go through some form or another of hard knocks that teach them a HUGE lesson in humanity – no one is immune to that. Compassion is learned. Grace is learned. Forgiveness is learned. Love is learned. Acceptance is learned. If there is ONE things I wish I could say to ALL teens and have them REALLY get it – It’s that. Give life time to happen. That is so much easier said than done. Hope is a powerful thing. When present, it can keep one going and propell them into new days until something changes. When absent, life no longer seems worth living. The adult form of this encouragement is usally in the form of phrases like “tomorrow is a new day”. Those statements are FULL of hope but do you know the second HUGE factor in those statements? The Unknown. As an adult you understand that the world is a big place and in such a big place there is HUGE possibility – possibility that things you can’t see are working in your favor somehow. But that logic doesn’t exist for teenagers trapped in bad situations in high-school. Why? Because that factor of the unknown doesn’t exist. Their routine is set. There isn’t much change from one day to the next. Their hope is missing a huge component to work. That is why it is so dramatic for some. I know I am rambling. I know this is a strange post. I say all of this to say this: Take the time to encourage a tween or teenager. Look past their outward expression and try to see their heart – if they are struggling. These days they are so quick to take things to the extreme. Be willing to act more than speak. Words always have meaning, of course, but actions will mean way more to them – especially since this time in their life they hear the cliche’ saying’s ALL THE TIME.Pomp This is our future. So much is working against them. Be a light in a dimly lit world.