I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me

with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.

I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she

gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married,

and have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to

be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting

one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a

chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would

leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to

this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily

>made friends wherever she went.

She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon

her from the other students. She was living it up.

At! the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football

banquet.

I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up

to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her

three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and

simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this

whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me

just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing

because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and

achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got

to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know

it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and

don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am

eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I

will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The

idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no

regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for

things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with

regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our

daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all

those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to

the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be

all you can possibly be.

When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice

to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to

it, He will bring you through it.