open letter to my graduating students<\/a>, and I still stand behind it. Now, I feel inclined to share some additional advice.<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
5 Points to Consider After Your High School Graduation<\/b><\/h2>\n1. Go beyond the familiar<\/b><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s easy to stick to what you know, but growth will never come if you don\u2019t go beyond your current world. Look at many of the great prophets and saints in scripture as an example. We see that they allowed God to work best in them when they left their familiar environment. \u00a0Even Jesus spent time in the desert away from His comfort zone to prepare for His mission.<\/p>\n
The Lord has blessed us with a big and beautiful world to appreciate and love.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2. Embrace humility<\/b><\/h3>\n
I\u2019m sorry to tell you, but you\u2019re not all that special. Yes, you are loved and a beautiful child of God, but you still need Jesus just like everybody else. If you like to look at yourself as the exception, then there will certainly be reminders when you aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Seeing everyone as equally a child of God makes it easier to practice Christian charity and make new friends.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
3. Be Grateful<\/b><\/h3>\n
None of us get to where we are by ourselves. A heart of gratitude will help you avoid negative feelings of anger and envy that sabotage peace. Most importantly, live your gratitude for your loved ones. It will also help you to forgive more easily.<\/p>\n
In the final moments of many people\u2019s lives, this tends to be a common regret. Your relationships with your family and friends will change as you grow, but you have opportunity to live it now.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
4. Set Ambitious Goals<\/b><\/h3>\n
The years immediately after high school will set a path for the rest of your life. Wondering can have some formation benefits, but goals will help you fulfill your purpose. Don\u2019t be intimidated or feel limited by them. You can change them as needed, but they will help you say no to the things that will distract you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
5. Don\u2019t Coast<\/b><\/h3>\n
You were made for greatness. Complacency is easy, but you will reap the fruits of your labors. Remember the parable of the talents – the more you do with what you have, the more the Lord will bless your work. Wasting time is saying no to the great opportunities in front of you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Congratulations on your graduation, and may the Lord bless you and keep you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the missions God is currently calling me to serve is working with graduating high school youths, and it has been an incredible blessing for me to closely journey with inspiring teens. A couple of years ago, I wrote an open letter to my graduating students, and I still stand behind it. Now, I… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[154],"tags":[452,2795,173,2794,589,1709],"class_list":{"0":"post-114782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-youth","7":"tag-christian","8":"tag-class","9":"tag-college","10":"tag-grads","11":"tag-high-school","12":"tag-seniors","13":"entry","14":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39791,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/open-letter-to-graduating-high-school-seniors\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":0},"title":"Open Letter to Graduating High School Seniors","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve spent the last 4 years as a catechist to high school seniors. Before that I spent 4 years with confirmation classes and middle school students, but focusing on sending students out to college and beyond high school has been some of my most fruitful experiences. I would like to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Youth"","block_context":{"text":"Youth","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/youth\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"graduate","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/graduate-525x700.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41780,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/09\/tips-high-school-seniors-heck-high-school-ers-general\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":1},"title":"Tips For High School Seniors, Heck, High School-ers in General","author":"Joshua Villarreal","date":"September 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's like they always say, retrospective is always twenty-twenty. The ever-celebrated high school senior year is an incredibly emotion filled time period. The stress of college applications, trying to figure out what career you want to do, and how you interact with friends and relationships in this last year of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Youth"","block_context":{"text":"Youth","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/youth\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Most likely you aren't experiencing this type of graduation I just thought it'd be mildly amusing to insert it into the post. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/800px-US_Navy_110527-N-UH963-164_Newly_commissioned_Navy_ensigns_and_Marine_Corps_2nd_lieutenants_from_the_U.S._Naval_Academy_Class_of_2011_celebrate_the-300x204.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":38509,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/confirmation-is-not-graduation-seeing-sacraments-as-more-than-goals\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":2},"title":"Confirmation is NOT Graduation: Seeing Sacraments as More Than Goals","author":"Rita Suva","date":"March 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In our lives it\u2019s hard to measure success, or even know if we\u2019re moving forward and growing without goals, markers and signs. In school we learned material, took a test to make sure we had comprehended and studied that material and received a grade for our efforts. As adults, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ari and Me during Confirmation with text.jpg2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/me-and-ari-during-Confirmation-with-text.jpg2_-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16584,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/to-the-college-freshman-class-of-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":3},"title":"To The College Freshman Class of 2016","author":"Elizabeth","date":"May 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We get a lot of good Graduation advice. Steve Jobs told us in his graduation speech at Stanford that we shouldn't waste our lives living someone else's dream. Winston Churchill explained that we should never, never, never give in except to the convictions of honor and good sense in 1941.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1276\/632746608_a74bee24c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32577,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/01\/youth-ministry-lasts-a-lifetime\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":4},"title":"Youth Ministry Lasts a Lifetime","author":"Laura Gonzalez","date":"January 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm pretty sure\u00a0the youth ministry\u00a0small groups I lead are sick of hearing it, but if it weren't for kids like them, I wouldn't be Catholic today.\u00a0I didn't grow up in a practicing Catholic family, although I was baptised as an infant. Growing up, material things were all that mattered to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Youth Ministry Lasts a Lifetime - A testimony","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/The-C-630x556.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16874,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/05\/two-guys-a-girl-and-a-catholic-podcast-episode-55-wisdom-for-the-class-of-2012\/","url_meta":{"origin":114782,"position":5},"title":"Two Guys a Girl and a Catholic Podcast Episode 55: Wisdom for the Class of 2012","author":"2GGCP","date":"May 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Episode 55 [powerpress] Current Events: It\u2019s graduation season... we\u2019ll each have a chance to channel our inner commencement speaker. \u00a0What\u2019s your wisdom for the class of 2012? What you shouldn\u2019t buy your HS graduate. \u00a0http:\/\/shopping.yahoo.com\/articles\/yshoppingarticles\/902\/gifts-you-shouldnt-buy-grads\/ Catholic high school withholds student diploma for Tebowing -\u00a0http:\/\/offthebench.nbcsports.com\/2012\/05\/22\/catholic-high-school-withholds-grads-diploma-for-tebowing-on-stage\/ Outro for segment, the best graduation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast"","block_context":{"text":"Two Guys, a Girl and a Catholic Podcast","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/podcast\/2guysagirl\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/2GGCP-LOGO2-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Advice](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/AdviceforGraduatingHighSchoolStudents-550x270.jpg?resize=550%2C270\")
<\/p>\n