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Building 'bridges' to a brighter future
Posted 5/16/2011
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Commentary by Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
5/16/2011 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- I can easily reach back 24 years and recall how exhilarated I was feeling when I was handed my high school diploma during graduation ceremonies at Wakefield (Mich.) High School on May 24, 1987. I also remember the dread I was feeling in knowing that life was about to get tougher.
Every year, I'm sure there are millions of students who have that same feeling I had upon completion of high school. However to the high school students of today and the future, and possibly to everyone, I have just one piece of major advice for you as you go on -- "build some bridges."
Graduating high school for me was a chance to "bridge" to my next challenge. First that meant going to college for two years where I attended a community college and graduated again. Then I went to work full-time in the civilian sector for the next three years.
After that I "bridged" over to joining the Air Force where I've been the last 19 years. Eventually, very soon, I'll have to "bridge" back over to the civilian world and find a new job and set up a different kind of lifestyle. But as the saying goes, I'll "cross that bridge when I get to it."
Careers and education often have many of their bridges intertwined too. With many jobs come education requirements, or a need to learn something new. Essentially, we never stop learning as we grow older. Trust me, in my military job I have new tactics, techniques and procedures I learn all the time.
There's also all the bridges we build with personal relationships. I believe in being a person who doesn't "burn" too many bridges along life's path. It's something I learned from my parents and grandparents early on in my bridge-building training. The people we meet in our lives help shape who we are and often help us reach our potential.
To me, the more bridges I have open to me, the more paths of possibilities I have for the future. Additionally, when you meet new people and build those new bridges, your world keeps opening up even more and you might even find out something about yourself you never knew.
Twenty-four years ago I walked the stage with 40-plus other students in my graduating class. Today I remain friends with nearly all of them. Every one of them has taken a unique path in careers. They've built families and I'd say they are all successful in their own way. We've all built many bridges along the way.
On May 14, I watched my daughter Ivy walk across a stage to get her high school diploma and soon she will be "bridging" over to college as I did. She told me afterward she was feeling much like I did 24 years ago.
For her, her future will be defined by the bridges she builds and burns along way. Hopefully, for Ivy, it means more bridge building and not much bridge burning. If some of her bridges collapse, she can always rebuild them. All I can hope for is her success in whatever she personally defines as success. No one else can do that for her.
So to all graduates and everyone, I encourage you to build those bridges. Build them every chance you get, keep them maintained and use them to bridge to a brighter future. |
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