The Synergistic Pen

My cousin just graduated from the University of Chicago Saturday morning. She now has a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development. She will be attending a Post Bach program at a local university to take some core science classes (ahhh, science) and then she's off to medical school.

Meanwhile, my niece graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago. She will be starting college. She wants to teach. She will also be attending school locally. She's very excited.

Then there is yet another cousin who will be graduating next year with a degree in education. My nephew will graduate from high school next summer. My daughter will be a junior this time next year. My son graduates in 2 years.

sigh. I remember when it was me and my sisters and cousins. We were young, we had dreams, we wanted to change the world. We all have done quite well for ourselves, I'd like to think. Its nice watching our progeny head off into the world.

I grew up in an era when black women either became nurses or teachers and made no real effort to be anything else. In our family, we just happen to be nuturers and healers...so...the teaching and medicine thing works for us. But, there are lawyers and financiers and business entrepeneurs also in our family.

We are all young gifted and black...even those of us who are young anymore. New careers have sprouted out of old. I teach now, after years of working as an engineer. My middle sister the nurse is now an agricultural entrepeneur, babygirl, used to be a software engineer for NASA; she's a stay at home mom that works part time as a substitute teacher. And on and on...we all have dreams, we all have goals, we all have tried to be role models for our children....

Well, watching the new batch of "us" go out into the world, I have to say, I'm proud. I know how hard it will be for them, but I'm excited for them too. The same way someone was excited for me.

To be young, gifted, and black. Yeah.