By Dan Payne, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program
July 14, 2014

Summer Fun
Summer’s finally here, and today in the northwest, it actually feels like it. As I’m writing, the forecast for the day is a scorching 92 degrees… in Washington State! With more than a handful of beautiful days behind us already, this summer seems to be shaping up nicely.

Opportunity is in the air. You can smell the potential in the fresh bloom of Washington flora and you can taste the anticipation of what’s on the horizon. One of the best aspects of summer is that it marks an end as well as a new beginning. For some, it’s the advancement to the next year of school, ripe with the excitement of new challenges to overcome. For others, it’s diving into college, exploring the world of opportunity at their fingertips. And for others, it’s the first leap into the world after college, and the beginning of the life that they’ve prepared for. For everyone, limitations are dependent on determination and imagination.

Milestones such as these serve as reminders of the necessity to achieve and to move forward to new endeavors. But life is often broken too simply into three chapters; school, work, and retirement, ignoring all of the milestones that don’t adhere to such a predictable schedule. Unfortunately, some successes fly a little lower under the radar. When these achievements slip by, the opportunity to celebrate an end, and revel in a new beginning can be lost.

What are your recent successes? Have you finally made time to finish a book you’ve been meaning to read? Taken the first step towards learning a new language, or picking up an instrument? After all, the first steps are the hardest. Maybe you’ve succeeded in preparing your children for school. Accomplishments, large and small, make way for new opportunities.

Take each summer as a time to look back on the past years efforts. If you find that you and your family have achieved some of your goals, celebrate those successes, and search for new challenges that excite you. Opportunities don’t always come knocking, many require searching, and some have to be made. In the words of Francis Bacon, “a wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” Why let repetitive patterns dictate your future? Life is as big as you make it.

I don’t know about you but I’m going to do everything I can to harness the energy of summer and strive to venture worth to something exciting.

To quote a dirty pirate from a Disney movie, “bring me that horizon.”

About the author:

Dan Payne is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program. Since it opened in 1998, the GET program has grown from 7,900 to over 157,000 accounts, with a fund valued at over $2.5 billion. Dan is a contributor to GET’s blog and social media efforts.