Page 3 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2017 - Online Magazine

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The spring season brings up quite a letter
bit of change for some in the younger
generation. There are many seniors in
high school around us who are gearing up from
for graduation. As I thought about Senior
Link for this quarter, I saw an opportunity the
that had the potential to genuinely LINK
two senior populations. That is why this publisher
edition is called “Senior 2 Senior”. We
reached out to several of the local high
schools and asked them to help us find
students who would be willing to write
articles about senior citizens who have impacted their lives. We knew
we would discover that teachers, grandparents, neighbors and family
friends have influenced these young students significantly, and that they
would be inspired to share their stories with you.

With the help of AIM Bank and Café Venture Catering that includes
Fuddruckers we felt led to honor them for their efforts. Each of these
students received a small scholarship at an awards banquet. But I hope
they received much more than money. In fact, I know they have already
benefitted, because you can’t sit down with someone from another
generation, listen to his/her story and not gain something.

A song by Mercy Me comes to mind. The lyrics go like this:

Dear younger me, Where do I start? If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far, then you could be one
step ahead of all the painful memories still running through my head. I wonder how much different things would
be, Dear younger me.

Dear younger me, I cannot decide. Do I give some speech about how to get the most out of your life, or do I go deep
and try to change The choices that you’ll make, cause they’re choices that made me? Even though I love this crazy
life, sometimes I wish it was a smoother ride. Dear younger me, dear younger me...

If I knew then what I know now, condemnation would’ve had no power. My joy, my pain would’ve never been my
worth, if I knew then what I know now. Would’ve not been hard to figure out what I would’ve changed if I had
heard, Dear younger me…

You see - you can’t go back and relearn everything to make your life experiences any easier or less painful. Your
journey thus far has made you who you are. But what you can do is to continue to look into the eyes of this younger
generation and give them nuggets of wisdom. Sometimes it might seem like your words are going in one ear and
out the other, or that an iPad is blocking the view. But we can trust and pray that in a specific moment, when they
face a particular situation, they might be reminded of your wisdom and how to handle the choices before them. You
can’t change your past, but you can link with these young seniors as they embark on their own journeys. You can
share love, courage, values and a stronger foundation.

This Senior 2 Senior issue is the first of many. If you know of a junior in high school, please share this edition with
that young person and encourage them to write about someone next spring. Let’s start a grassroots effort of linking
“seniors”. We will all be blessed by the wisdom shared!
Erin Agee

{ Thank you for those who have written in this edition, for sharing your knowledge {

and stories and helping to Link us. And thank you to the advertisers who make
this magazine a reality. Without all of you this would not be possible.