I come from the coolest, craziest family ever: The Woolley’s. Oh ya… We even have a theme song. You haven’t seen dancing until you’ve seen a group of people get down to Wooly Bully.
And when one of our own graduates, you can bet we’re the loudest peeps in the auditorium. My sweet cousin Crista recently graduated and took the stage as the Salutatorian, giving a speech that’ll knock your socks off. Not only that, but she walked away with a full scholarship to a 4-year university, where she plans to major in Psychology and offer hope to hurting people. Ask me if I’m proud.
This girl is wise beyond her years, and the words she shared with the crowd certainly proved it. What better way to get your point across than using Star Wars to get your point across. She may have only been in this world for 18 years, but we have much to learn from her words.
Here’s an excerpt from her speech that teaches us all three powerful lessons on how to approach our lives:
Now, if any of you know me, you know that I love Star Wars. My cap has the proof. And while some of you think it’s pretty nerdy, I want to share some lessons with you that I have learned from this iconic movie series.
Lesson 1: Often failure is our greatest way to success. In A New Hope, Obi Wan said, “Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” The things we learn in the midst of failures are what strengthens us and makes us who we are.
Lesson 2: Don’t let fear control your life. Yoda was clearly onto something when he said, “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Fear can cripple us from doing what we want and what is best for us. It holds you back from taking risks that are momentous, so let it go.
And the third and final lesson is that humor goes a long way. In A New Hope, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and Hans Solo are trapped in a trash compactor. There seems to be no way out as the walls are closing in tighter. However, being the charismatic character that he is, Han Solo lightens the mood by saying, “One thing’s for sure. We’re all going to be a lot thinner.” Things are going to get tough in life, but making decisions in those valleys isn’t always the best solution. Sometimes you have to crack a joke, put a smile on your face and continue with life.
Thank You and May the Force Be With You.
[ctt template=”5″ link=”R4e59″ via=”yes” ]The things we learn in the midst of failures are what strengthens us and makes us who we are. ~Crista Woolley[/ctt]
What if we took a moment to truly soak up these words? No matter our age, we always have something to teach to others. We can let failure define us, or we can pick up ourselves up and move on. We can be controlled by fear and doubt, or we can do life afraid. We can choose to live in self-pity when life gets hard, or we can laugh a little, even in the midst of trials.
When life hands you lemons, put them down and do the Wooly Bully.