The Writing Passion

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For Grandson Ryan,

             And Grandchildren Ben, Jake, and Jenny  when you reach your age of decision.

                                                Age of Decision

By Harriet May Savitz

            I never had the opportunity to go to college. Though I hungered for more education.  And so I sought it myself whenever possible.  In books.  In conversation.  Always wondering what I might have learned if I had been able to obtain a college education. 

            But you, Ryan, have the opportunity to go to college where knowledge eagerly awaits your arrival.   It must be both frightening and incredibly exciting to be 16, as you are, and thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life.  So that you may enroll in a college that will best serve your needs.

            I did not know what I wanted to do or to be at 16.  I could not have told anyone what was in my heart because I did not know myself.  But my friends were going to college.  And they were making all kinds of decisions.  Was this college too big or too small?  Too far away from home or too close?  With too many students or not enough?  And then there were the finances.  How much could one afford for a higher education.  In my family, we could afford nothing.

            But now, at this older age of 73, if anyone asked me what I would  like to gain from college, I would have many answers.  For knowledge is the greatest weapon against ignorance and bigotry and violence.  If someone said to me today, “What would you like college to give you?” I would have the answers.”

            I would want to learn about food, the growing of it, the packaging of it, the delivering of it.  I would want to help make the food chain safer.  I would want to help others learn about the food they eat and what their bodies need to survive.  I would want to learn how to cook it, and how to preserve it.  And if it was possible, I would want to have the knowledge that would enable the hungry to be hungry no longer.

            I would also like to study the environment.  This air I breathe.  This water I drink.  These necessities in my life.  I am using them all the time and I am also abusing them.  My car and my garbage do not give them consideration.  I would want to learn how to respect the environment.  How I might give it what it needs to survive

            Knowledge might give me the wisdom to be a diplomat. To have that noble ability to talk to others of different beliefs.  To give them the power to settle their problems without violence.   If I studied enough in college, I might learn this also.

            Government of the people, by the people and for the people would be another interest I would pursue.  This democracy I have spent my life enjoying.  I would study its history so that I might help shape its future.  Help preserve its existence.    

            I would listen very carefully to the voices coming from inside.  Even after 73 years of living, they still speak to me.  They tell me what I must do to be content, happy, fulfilled, and valuable to the world around me.  They tell me when I am wrong and they tell me when I am right.  I must always take the time to hear their messages for these voices are my own truth.

            Whatever I learned at college, I would share  with others.  Wherever I might be.  At work.  In my home. .  In other countries.  I would offer what I have learned so that this universe could benefit from my existence.

            And I would know that whatever college I choose, large or small, prestigious or not,  knowledge will be waiting.

            With open arms.  

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