"There is a giant difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don' t do one productive thing， you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and 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 the opportunity in change.
"Have no regrets. The elderly usually don' t have regrets for what we did， but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose". She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At 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 possibly be.
上學的第一天，教授向化學班的全體同學作了自我介紹，還鼓勵我們去結識並不認識的人。我站起來向四周望去，正在這時，有人輕輕拍了拍我的肩膀。我轉過身來，看到一位滿臉皺紋、個子矮小的老太太正對著我開心地笑著，她的笑容使她看起來容光煥發。
她說道：“你好，英俊的小夥子。我是羅斯，今年87歲。我能不能擁抱你一下？”
我笑了，熱情地回答道：“當然可以。”她給了我一個大大的擁抱。
“你為什麽在這麽年輕、這麽純真的年紀選擇上大學？”我開玩笑地說。
她也開玩笑地回答：“我到這裏來就是想找一個有錢的丈夫結婚，生幾個孩子，然後退休去旅行。”
“你不是在開玩笑吧？”我問道。我非常好奇，想知道是什麽力量使她在這樣的年紀去迎接這樣的挑戰。