The comments below are written by a guest blogger. I hope you enjoy them.
As part of our speaker series, we recently welcomed back a distinguished alumnus who has built an impressive career as a business professional and college professor. His journey is one our students could learn a great deal from.
He grew up in East Baltimore and earned a scholarship to attend Calvert Hall, went on to play college football at a prestigious university, and eventually found success in both business and higher education. His path took him through some very different worlds, but his story shared an important lesson: opportunities can open doors, and what we do with those opportunities can shape our future.
However, what stood out most wasn't his professional accomplishments or the places his career had taken him. It was something much simpler. He shared three mantras that have guided him throughout his life:
I belong.
I don't have to be perfect.
People love and care about me.
He offered these reminders to our students, and I thought they were especially meaningful messages for young men to carry with them.
High school can be a challenging time. Students are figuring out who they are and what they want to become. They compare grades, athletic abilities, accomplishments, and even their social lives with those of their classmates. It can be easy to feel like everyone else has things figured out or that you have to be the best at something to be successful.
Our speaker's message offered a different perspective. He talked about how in whatever you circle you are invited to, you belong. You don't have to get everything right to be successful. And even when you aren’t perfect or people might not appreciate you, there are people that love you.
His three reminders also made me think about my own experiences.
As a high school student, I didn't always feel like I fit in. I eventually found my place and have lifelong friends from my high school. I also remember being in advanced classes but not always earning the highest grades. Sometimes, I convinced myself that I didn't care about getting the best grade, when really I was trying to protect myself from the possibility of falling short. Through it all, one thing I could always count on was the love and support of my family. My parents encouraged me to work hard and do well in school, but they also reminded me that my grades didn't define who I was.
Those lessons are still relevant today. As a teacher, I work alongside talented and experienced colleagues. There are times when I question whether I am knowledgeable enough, experienced enough, or capable enough. I can be hard on myself when things don't go as planned, and I sometimes spend too much time thinking about what I could have done differently.
That's why our speaker's three mantras resonated with me. They aren't just reminders for teenagers navigating high school. They are reminders for all of us.
Our alumnus has accomplished a great deal, but one of the most valuable things he shared wasn't a career milestone or a formula for success. It was a simple message about how we see ourselves.
I hope our students remember his story and carry these three reminders with them long after they leave the Hall.
And they are lessons each of us need to remember, too.
I belong. I don't have to be perfect. People love and care about me.
