Commitment and Sacrifice

When we are young, we long for that special relationship that would take us through life. Some of us who dated at the juvenile level, were told it was nothing more than puppy love. As we grew into the young adult stage, we became more aware of the highs and lows of our fist love syndrome. Either they were long lasting relationships or they vanished into thin air. Regardless, we become older and wiser. Today we may feel differently about commitment concerning what we thought we knew.
As we emerge into our latter years, we tend to either become complacent or work harder at what we didn’t accomplish when we had the chance. I'm working with a young lady who is 76 years of age and she is just as sharp in mind as I am. It amazes me how easy she catches on to concepts and ideas she remembers from school many moons ago. Her desire was to get her GED and as we practice, she is so excited to go after what she has long desired.
This is the way commitment comes about. Commitment is a binding contract suggesting continued obligation. This can be in relation to another or to self. I found this out when I was 24 years of age. My twins were just entering kindergarten. I promised myself when they went to school I would return as well. I blatantly walked into my local university, three days into their kindergarten year, and requested information on how the system worked to enroll an incoming student. I felt alone and afraid. Yet, I took the entrance exam and within weeks, I received my registration packet. This was the easy part. Staying committed was the hardest thing.
When I was introduced to this new world of higher education, I began to really take advantage of everything it offered me. Telling everyone I knew how easy it was for me. I did that just to have someone I knew take those scary steps right along with me. Well, needless to say, I continued the walk alone. My family was my strength even though they couldn’t comprehend the struggle of what I was enduring. In June of 2000, I walked across that stage. Being the first to graduate college in our family, they excitedly routed for my commitment!
Commitment, along with sacrifice will guide you to have strength when you feel weak. This is why a relationship can withstand the test of time when it would normally be labeled puppy love. Those relationships that didn’t last, well let’s just say we saw the future before it got there. If there are no sacrifices, or giving up some of what we enjoy, we will lack the motivation to stay committed. Building schedules and patterns help get things accomplished and is a sure way to stay committed. It is within the act of a desire that helps us to go beyond the basic and graduate alone, get a GED at the age of 76 and live happily ever after with our first love.
Dorina Shine