As I sat there listening to these Youth Leadership Selma-Dallas County graduates talk about the community projects they had completed as part of their leadership class requirements.

It gave me time to reflect on what I was doing at that age. It certainly wasn’t anything productive like these students did.

Something I have noticed as I have gotten older is the drive that more students have to do better.

I graduated from high school in 2008, and the number of people that had a drive like these students do was very low. Maybe it was because I was around those types of people more but there seemed to be a lethargic look at education from almost all of the 32 of us that walked across the stage at Hubbertville High School.

Students now have a passion to change the world and to excel at whatever they choose to do.

Goals and ambition are important especially at that pivotal part of our lives.

It is interesting to see how much our plans can change as well.

If things would’ve stayed the course they had in 2008, I would already be married with kids working as an RN in DCH or somewhere.

Our goals in life change and our aspirations can change as well.

That is a normal part of life but it is important to have them no matter where life ends up taking you.

These kids (I can call them that because I’m almost 30) have goals and it is important for them to have them and the drive to succeed.

I hope these students keep up the hard work. This is such an important part in their lives and the hard work they put in now will not only improve their work ethic, but it will place them ahead of the rest of the people their age.