Letter: Inspired by many achievers

Steven Hawkins

On Nov. 19, I turn 43 years old. Being in my 40s is wonderful. When he became 43 years old, John F. Kennedy was elected U.S. president. And George W. Bush was elected governor of Texas in his 40s. Right in your 40s, you could have many good things done and accomplished in life in America; first of all, of course, after hard work and using savings in advance.

As a child of the 1980s and ’90s, my eyes were always glued to the television on the success stories of Presidents Reagan and Bush and how they made America a better place. I was also intrigued about Bill and Hillary Clinton during the ’90s and the story of U.S. Sens. Robert Dole and John McCain. I also was thrilled coming up in the 2000s about the presidency of George W. Bush, and U.S. Secretaries of State Powell and Rice’s vision for America.

People who have served the state of North Carolina well while I was growing up include Jim Hunt, James Martin, Congresswoman Sue Myrick, Mark Meadows and U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s was a wonderful experience indeed. My great generation has seen a lot of things happen, and I’m glad I’m still around here to talk about them.

People such as Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston and Madonna were music superstars during the ’80s and ’90s, and sports stars such as Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and Larry Bird were all over the airways and news.

Our generation even saw a boom in the Silicon electronic industry, and these American companies make money around the world such as Google, eBay, Microsoft, Amazon and Bing. These companies made America a leader in the electronic social media industry.

Our generation prided itself on hard work and innovation — a people who have had good ideas who made a difference in the world. As a child of the 1990s, our parents here in America taught us that hard work and building your savings add to success.

Youth and prime of life are vanity and a striving after the wind if you haven’t accomplished anything and achieved any success in life. But to live in the greatest country on Earth, America, where you could have a lot of money first after you work hard, play by the rules and do what you’re told, is a blast.

And in America, you should always strive to be a good person, because good things always come to those who wait. And being 43 years old and middle age is phenomenal. And I have been blessed to achieve this age, and I look forward to more things to achieve that are around the corner for me.

— Steven Hawkins
Greenville, S.C.

 

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3 thoughts on “Letter: Inspired by many achievers

  1. Voirdire

    Mark Meadows? …while you were “growing up”?? Thank you MtnX for this… this is really sad.

    • Mike

      I was intrigued by that as well. So I looked it up and found: ” In 1987, Meadows started “Aunt D’s”, a small restaurant in Highlands, North Carolina.

      While living in Highlands, Meadows served as chairman of the Republican Party in Macon County, and was a delegate to several state and national Republican conventions.[11] Meadows was on North Carolina’s Board for Economic Development in Western North Carolina.[12]

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