REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

I love this story........ It's dust, not tears in my eyes. Credit from a Twitter user:

"An 87-Year-Old College Student Named Rose The first day of school, our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, "Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I hug you?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" she squeezed me.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…" "No, seriously," I asked. I was curious about what may have motivated her to take on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education, and now I'm getting one!" she told me. After class, we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. Listening to this "time machine," I was always mesmerized as she shared her wisdom and experience.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and quickly made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and reveled in the attention bestowed upon her by the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester, we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll always remember what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. She dropped her three-by-five cards on the floor as she delivered her prepared speech. Frustrated and slightly embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and said, "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 tell you what I know."

As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.

1. You have to laugh and find humor every day.
2. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your goals, you die. We have so many dead people walking around who don't even know it!
3. There is a vast difference between growing older and growing up. You will turn twenty if you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing. If I am eighty-seven years old, stay in bed for a year, and never do anything, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunities for change.
4. I want you to know I have no regrets. Older people usually don't regret what they did but rather for things they did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose. She challenged us to study the lyrics and live them out daily.

At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can be.

When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful advice to your friends and family; they'll enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get; We make a Life by what we give."

Remember this when you are thinking about learning something new or starting a business. You are never too old.