You have and will continue to have astute advice given to you by very wise people, much smarter than I. Please pay attention to what they tell you.
I can only give you the story of the last two things I learned as a student at Durango High School. These two lessons have served me very well for over 50 years and I hope that in someway they can be of use to you:
My commencement; sitting in the red graduation robe and flat cap thinking, “Which way do I turn the tassel?” and considering a classmate who, regardless of the situation, was always just…happy.
On that morning, at that moment, the lesson struck me: That someone my age could be that composed yet full of life.
Then came a part of the valedictory speech:”We live in times where everything is not black and white, but there are shades of grey.” Years later I told him how significant that speech was to me; he had never known.
Sadly, never thanked the other fellow. He was killed at a young age.
Oh, and one other thing: You can leave Durango, and do this and make that and sign this and that, but Durango never really leaves you. And that’s a blessing.
PS: The tassel goes on the right before you graduate. Then it belongs on your left side, your heart’s side.
David Watkins (DHS ‘66)
Redington Shores, Fla.