Photo Credit Alexander Mass
For every chest-pumping, GI Joe wannabe spouting garbage on social media, I hope they see how their coaches lead with quiet strength and courage, demonstrating calm resolve and giving positive feedback to help them get better, praising publicly and correcting privately as good leaders do. How teams are stronger when communication is clear and constructive, and how lifting up their teammates makes the whole league better.
For every horrifying story of despicable acts captured in thousands of sloppily redacted files, I hope they see how the adult men in our family care for and respect the women they love: their mothers, aunts, sisters, wives, nieces, and daughters. How it’s important to stand up for those who need it most, and to use their power to support those who stand up for themselves.
I hope that as they go through their lives, they find friends and partners who help them continue to grow, who challenge them, make them think, and push them toward new ways of being, because lifelong learning is not just a good catchphrase for a university; it’s what keeps us engaged with the world. I hope they find jobs that allow them to thrive, and that they remember they are not whatever title appears on their email signature, but rather that their lives revolve around the joy they find in what work enables them to do, not what they acquire. That they find good mentors and mentor those who come after them.
Photo Credit Jesse Orrico