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We are always told that as we get older, we are meant to become wise. But I hope we stay foolish, foolish enough to believe that everything is possible. To know that we can do whatever we want and there is no one that can stop us but ourselves.
Fellow graduates, this month we say goodbye to constants in our life. We say goodbye to organized education and late nights of studying.
Goodbye to our athletic careers -- our coaches and teammates; to hours of workouts and icing our bumps, breaks and bruises.
But most importantly, we say goodbye to the children we used to be. This is it. Everything prior was just practice.
Every piece of tape on our ankles. Every win. Every loss. Every tear. Every breath we took.
They have all been to prepare us for this time in our life. We may not have known it at the time, but everything we have experienced was for a reason.
We've done the work. We've put in the blood, sweat and tears. We've planned for this moment since we can remember and now it is actually here.
I hope you did what you wanted. I hope you took some great classes and some really time-wasting ones. I hope you lived your dream of playing a college sport, of getting a college degree.
I hope you gained lifelong friends and mentors. But, most of all, I hope you know that you deserve what your life has in store for you.
There is one thing I have learned in life that stands out the most: Life is about being ready for the moments that will change your life.
Plan to fail at times; that's what life is about. But prepare for the opportunities to grow as a person.
Remember to never stop trying, to never stop fighting for what you want. Never stop doing things that make you uncomfortable.
Take chances.
Follow your dreams, especially when they are ridiculous and other people say you'll never see them fulfilled.
Good things come to those who wait. But great things come to those who work tirelessly and never give up.
The groundwork is set; our foundation is in place. Our life is out there waiting on us.
The only thing left for us to do is show up.
- Eugene Daniels
Mick McGrane has covered the Mountain West since the league's inception in 1999. He spent 12 years at the San Diego Union-Tribune, where he served as the beat writer for San Diego State football and men's basketball. He currently represents the MW as a member of the Football Writers Association of America All-America Committee and is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. McGrane serves as senior writer to the Mountain West, providing readers with exclusive, in-depth information about the Conference by highlighting its 10 member institutions and contributing feature stories on student-athletes that participate in the league's 18 sponsored sports.
Mark Knudson is a Colorado State journalism school graduate and a 12-year veteran of professional baseball. During his playing career, Mark pitched for three major league teams, including the Colorado Rockies, where he was the first Colorado native to play for the hometown team. He recorded wins over three of the four legendary pitchers who make up the 4,000 strikeout club: Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. His win over Ryan came for the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day in 1991.
