Karla's Kolumn: Much to celebrate

The school year draws to a close this week and there's been much celebration in Worland the past week with graduation, two-time state boys soccer champions and Kait Wassum winning two track titles.

Ten Sleep also had much to celebrate with graduation and Kelli Holiday finishing her career with 14 championship medals in track.

Whether an athlete, artist, musician, academician, I offer a few more final tips to our graduates.

First, it is OK to make mistakes. No, really it is.

I have made a few in my lifetime, and I am sure I will make some more.

But the thing about mistakes is they shape who we are and who we become. It is always best if we learn from them so as not to repeat them.

Do not live your life with regret. Put the past behind you. One of the most moving things I remember from the Rachel's Challenge presentation is Rachel's brother and the lesson he struggled to learn - learn to forgive yourself - and then forgive others and move forward in life.

Realize you can not go back and change the past but also realize the future has yet to be written and the choices and decisions you make today will impact your future.

I've shared this quote a few times, from "Designing Women" and Miss Minnie Bell Ward, a 100-year-old character in the show. She says, "We ain't what we should be, we ain't what we're gonna be, but at least we ain't what we were."

And, finally, another favorite quote I've shared before, from Joseph Campbell, "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." (Be flexible.)

Good luck and God bless on your next adventure graduates.

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After celebrating achievements this past week, this weekend we turn to observing and honoring our fallen heroes, those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can continue to live in a free country.

Monday is Memorial Day. There are services planned in Worland and Ten Sleep by the American Legion Post 44 at the respective cemeteries.

If you have never been to a service I encourage you to attend one. It reminds us what this holiday is about.

It is not about another three-day weekend. It is not about barbecues and the start of summer vacation.

During the Worland service they perform the laying of the wreaths for each war that the United States has been involved in starting with the Revolutionary War. Soldiers have been fighting for our freedom from the birth of our nation up to the present.

We should never take for granted the freedoms we have in this country. We need to honor those who sacrificed their lives for us and we can do that by honoring our veterans, especially the fallen veterans on Monday.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, "Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.

"In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty."

God bless America, land of the free and home of the brave.