Welcome to UTM and to the beginning of the rest of your life. This year brings a new chapter in your life and only you have the power to decide what to do with it. Hopefully you’re here because this is where you want to be, but you may be here because of parental pressure, because friends or family come here, or you didn’t know what else to do and thought you’d try college.

Beginning today you can decide how you want to live and whether you want to go through life simply getting by or whether you want to really live. No parents, friends or professors can do it for you. Only you can choose to have a life of meaning by how you give yourself to your passions and other people.

The world we live in and many people we know often measure success by the amount of money in our bank accounts and happiness with the newest and most expensive toy. But those things only have the meaning that you personally attach to them. No one wants to be money poor, especially me, and we all know that we need money to live on, but true success is within you and in creating a life of meaning and purpose that fills you and overflows into the world around you.

Attending college is a major step in your life, but it is only one of many to come. Here you’ll have the opportunity to meet new people from different backgrounds, be exposed to and challenged by new ideas and honor your calling in this world. Put your heart into everything you do, whether it is getting good grades, volunteering or being a true friend.

Give things a chance and be open to finding an interest in something you’d never thought of before. Don’t worry if you don’t yet know where you belong. You’re entitled to make mistakes. In time you’ll begin to feel the right path to follow, as if you’ve finally come home.

And when you do feel that calling, listen well. Pay attention to that feeling that energizes you and gives you a zest for life. Do what you love and use those gifts to give to others. Then you’ll know true success.