One day this week I spent with a cadet unexpectedly waiting for someone.  We got to know each other and ended up watching a movie together on my phone when we learned the person was delayed.   He wanted to watch “Forrest Gump.” Watching the movie, I appreciated the life lessons like never before.  It was as if you could interchange the lines of “Forrest Gump” and All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Laughing together we watched Forrest navigate a complex world with his refrains of “Stupid is as stupid does” and my favorite, “Mama always said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolate you never know what you’re going to get.’” As we watched the movie we talked about life and I asked him what he wanted to be.  It was a regular conversation topic, funny though when you think about it – it is such an open-ended question for young people.  As Forrest asked his Mama, “What’s my destiny?”   we never can know.  Life takes us on a journey and sometimes the paths are unexpected.  That brought me back to my childhood.  Although we were taught many lessons at age five, I cannot help but think we must keep remembering what we learned in kindergarten: “Share everything.  Play fair.  Don’t hit people.  Put things back where you found them.  Clean up your own mess.  Don’t take things that aren’t ours.  Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.  Wash your hands before you eat.  Flush. [and] Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.”  I guess as long as we remember to treat everyone with the same respect as we did when five and enjoy those friendships that are like “peas and carrots,” it will all work out.  Our cadets are young.  Their futures are bright, and we as their teachers will help guide them as best we can.  As for their destinies – we’ll Mama Gump said it best “you’re going to have to figure that out for yourself.”  But we will give them those tools to “run” forward into the world as best they can. – Christine C. McDonald, Dean of Academics