Ms. Virginia Cerussi's Grad at Grad Reflection

numerous friends to join me but none was able to for one reason or another. One of them said to me, "Ginny, you're friendly. Why don't you just go?" And so I took the risk and went solo, hoping that I did not have "loser" written all over me when I appeared at the airport. Well, I met some amazing new people --- we refer to ourselves as the Sicily Sisters -- and we get together several times a year. Had I not left my comfort zone and taken the risk to travel alone, they would not be a part of my life today.

Now I find myself at another crossroads in my life as I approach retirement. While part of me is tempted to follow the advice of my four-year-old granddaughter, who, when asked by her pre-K teacher to finish the sentence, "If I were queen of the whole wide world...." Charlotte answered, "I would lie down and do nothing all day." Well, I might do that for a day or two but that is certainly not who I am in the long term. In addition to spending more quality time with my four grandchildren, I hope to fill up those pages in my passport by traveling at times other than school vacations when the rest of the world is traveling. I want to take a course in conversational Italian as well as participate in the morning classes at my gym which I so enjoy in the summers. Just the names of the evening classes have told me they're not for me --Bronx Tough, Kickboxing, Belly Dancing, to name a few. I will volunteer at the nursing home where my mother, who celebrates her 98th birthday today, resides. And the rest of my plan is to have no plan and to just be open to opportunities as they unfold before me.

Enough about me. How can you become more open to growth? Perhaps you might want to join a club new to you, or try out for a part in the play, or become a member of a sports team.

You might enjoy writing an article for the Blazer and seeing your name in print, serving as a lector, altar server, Eucharistic Minister or retreat leader, joining Chorus, reading for pleasure, helping the less fortunate through Brownbaggers or a service trip, or by reaching out beyond your immediate circle of friends to making some new friends. At home you might make a conscious effort to be a good role model for younger siblings. There may be times when taking the risk did not turn out the way you had hoped. There is always the chance for rejection and failure. Well, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and we learn from our mistakes. It is not the end of the world to make a mistake. I have made many in my life. What you don't want to do is make the same mistakes over and over again. With an open-to-growth mindset, you will be able to convert life's setbacks into future successes. You won't wake up one morning as an adult, look back on your high school years, and ask, "What if?"

Now that I am at the end of my teaching career, I can't help but think back to how teaching was never in my original career plan when I was young but now I cannot imagine having done anything else. You do not have to have life all figured out at your young ages. Just be open to the path that unfolds before you. My 15 years at Loyola have been very happy ones and that is due largely to all of you and to those who preceded you in these same bleachers. I plan on returning over the next three years to witness each of you graduate. I love you all and I will miss you more than you know!