Good Luck to Seniors!

Like so many in the state, in a few days Cindy and I will watch our middle son, Jordan, graduate from high school. Two years ago we crossed this bridge with our oldest son, Thomas.
This week, I have been catching myself thinking, “I wish we had done such and such … we always intended to do xyz…” but did not when Jordan was growing up. Looking back can be tough on a parent and the “I wish we had” list can be long.
So, this Friday night, shortly after Lt. Governor Tate Reeves gives the commencement speech at Bayou Academy in Cleveland, Jordan will graduate from high school. The end of one era and the beginning of another.
Today’s possibilities in life are endless for young high school and college graduates. However, there is great competition for jobs in today’s modern world and while the opportunities are endless, young people must fight harder than ever to grab the brass ring. Technology, developing countries, a larger world population, tighter banking lending requirements for businesses, and a global economy, means more people, more competition, more problems and more chaos.
Graduates today must maneuver through all of this and find their way. And, in my view, these young people face far tougher challenges than my generation did when we exited high school.
To all graduates in our county: God gave you a good mind, so use it. Follow your dreams and passions and don’t allow one person on this earth tell you, you cannot accomplish whatever you set your sights on. Listen to your inner voice, make your decisions wisely because there will be many along the way who will try to hold you back, try to stop your momentum, try to make you lose your focus. Don’t let this happen. Know right now you cannot please everyone … be yourself and your true friends and business associates will show themselves. Go through life knowing that God is watching, listening, and with you every step in your journey.
Good luck to all graduating seniors. This moment is a great accomplishment and your life is now just beginning! And, remember: attitude equals altitude.
Scott Coopwood, a seventh generation Deltan, lives in Cleveland, Mississippi, with his wife Cindy and their three children. Scott is the publisher and owner of Delta Magazine, one of the South’s leading lifestyle publications, the Delta Business Journal, the first business publication in the Mississippi Delta; and Cleveland’s weekly newspaper, The Cleveland Current . Scott’s company also publishes two weekly e-newsletters. Coopwood publishing concerns now reach 250,000 people.  Scott is also a 1984 graduate of the University of Mississippi. He can be reached at scott@coopwood.net