“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”  (John Dewey, American Philosopher, 1859-1952)

Over the past few weeks, Bleu has had the opportunity to join in some of the most important celebrations of the year.  While the honorees and audiences have been varying and quite diverse, there has been a common thread that’s run through all of them…education.

With the youngest, which included completion of the very first semester of preschool and a Kindergarten graduation, there was ice cream, pizza, and a musical performance of rather catchy adolescent tunes.  Way to go, Ryleigh Rayne and Avery K.  You both ROCK!

There was also a graduation from high school and one from college.   While the former will soon be packing his bags to leave home on one of his biggest adventures to date, the other, with a need and desire to gain additional “real life” experience before beginning graduate school, has just loaded up his boxes to head back this way.   Congratulations, Kyle and Jake.  Regardless of your direction on I-35, you are both AMAZING!

While Kyle and Jake certainly have College Station and Aggie Pride in common, they both also have years of hard work and experience that vary from one another yet still far exceed those of the aforementioned three- and six-year-olds.  Nonetheless, included with each and every one of the four are huge accomplishments and aspirations for life’s next step.

Typically, people in this part of the country dare not mention an Aggie and a Longhorn in the same breath.  Still, this document on education would be incomplete without a “shout out” to our very own Jackie B and recognition of her recent accomplishments.  Even though she’s already earned her degree and is currently in graduate school, her walk across the UT stage just under six months ago still qualifies her as a “graduating senior”.  That, combined with her years of dedicated service to the alumni association while on campus, earned her the reward of a European trip from the Texas Exes.  She leaves this week for a month-long, whirlwind tour through nine countries across the continent.  We’re so PROUD of you, Jackie!  Just goes to show…it really does pay to be a good student.

Last but not least, we must mention the oldest and “wisest” of the bunch.  With more than a decade having passed since her completion of high school, and a lifetime of worldwide travels and experience behind her, she’s decided to re-embark on her quest for a college degree.  Whether the catalyst of her inspiration was the lack of privilege witnessed in countries she’s visited or the recent accomplishments of her very own Kindergarten graduate, her feat is no small one.  Congratulations, Belinda.  You are an INSPIRATION!

So, regardless of where each of these individuals currently resides within their educational journey, one thing remains certain…the most important thing is the pursuit…and, of course, the pizza.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 30th, 2009 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Bleu Life, Celebration, Family, Friends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.