I can’t help but tear up every time I think about this story—it’s that touching. On the first day of college, our professor challenged us to connect with someone new. As I scanned the room, a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned to see a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me, her smile lighting up the space around her. “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” she asked. I laughed, “Of course you may!” and she wrapped me in a warm, giant squeeze that felt like pure sunshine.
Curious, I asked, “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” She winked and teased, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids!” But when I pressed for the real reason, her answer stole my heart: “I always dreamed of having a college education, and now I’m getting one!” That day, after class, we shared a chocolate milkshake at the student union, and an instant friendship bloomed. For the next three months, we’d leave class together, talking nonstop. I was captivated by Rose, a living “time machine” who shared wisdom and stories from her 87 years with a sparkle in her eye.
Over the year, Rose became a campus icon. She loved dressing up, soaking in the attention from other students, and living life to the fullest. At the end of the semester, we invited her to speak at our football banquet—a moment I’ll never forget. As she stepped to the podium, she dropped her note cards, flustered. Leaning into the mic, she quipped, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent, and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order, so let me just tell you what I know.” We roared with laughter as she began.
“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing,” she said. “There are four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success: laugh and find humor every day, hold onto your dreams—because when you lose them, you die—embrace change to grow up, not just older, and live with no regrets.” She explained the difference between growing older and growing up: “If a nineteen-year-old lies in bed for a year doing nothing, they turn twenty. If I, at eighty-seven, do the same, I turn eighty-eight. Growing older takes no talent, but growing up means finding opportunity in change.” Her words h!t hard: “The elderly don’t regret what we did, but what we didn’t do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
Rose ended by singing “The Rose,” her voice trembling but brave, challenging us to live out its lyrics every day. I can still hear her, see the room hushed, her message sinking into our hearts. A week after finishing her degree—a dream she’d chased for decades—Rose passed away peacefully in her sleep. Over 2,000 students attended her funeral, honoring the woman who taught us it’s never too late to be all you can be. Her mantra echoes: “Growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional. We make a living by what we get, but a life by what we give.”
Shared in loving memory of Rose, this story isn’t just about an 87-year-old college student—it’s a call to live fully, dream big, and embrace every moment, no matter your age.
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