The Number 50

It finally happened, I turned 50 recently. The proverbial number that many of us gave thought and didn't want to actually see its inevitable arrival. But today it did. How do I feel? Is it just a number? How am I suppose to react? Am I making a big deal out of this moment? For some it is a special time. While we made it this far, our contemporaries didn't.



We come from a generation that faced unprecedented challenges to our lives and welfare. In the 70s we were emotionally affected by the men and women who returned from the Vietnam war with physical and emotional wounds that lasts to this day. It continues to carry over into today's society on how we treat our veterans, but we witness this and survive from their trauma.

In the 80s we had hoped to catapult our new beginning as high school graduates to make our statement in education choices and in our career goals. Unfortunately for some, the advent of the epidemic AIDS disease overshadows our focus to be ourselves. A small community of citizens are affected by this aggressive and deadly disease. A number of citizens were oblivious to this situation. Little did they know that this thoughtless mentality goes mainstream and changed the social, economic, and welfare of our country and worldwide. We weren't suppose to encounter this but we did. Some innocently expected the "traditional" health conditions to prevail in our lives, like cancer, something we at times brought upon ourselves in terms of health habits and choices made. We were challenged.

As we take the time to reflect on our milestone of life, we take great comfort that we are also living in an amazing time. Case in point, we have a black president, cell phones, and the birth of social media - a new way of communicating to a broader audience. As I look to the future at 50, there is hope and wisdom that takes me to another level of understanding and true appreciation of life and a sensible direction we can all aspire to reach for in our next chapter of our life.

Positive. 50. Outlook.

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