Its hard to believe this is the last few days of 2014. Every new year gives hope of better things for us, and if we work at it, each new year will offer them. The end of the year is a time to reflect but also to plan, and to make resolutions to better yourself for the future.

Reflecting back, not over just the past year but over all the past years, I realize I have been blessed with a wonderful life. I had two parents that loved me but did not smother me. When I read about “helicopter parents,” parents that hover around their children all the time even to the extent of moving to the town where they go to college, I grimace.

My parents took care of me but allowed me to be free. I spent countless hours out in the woods and on ponds by myself or with friends my age. That taught me independence and to think for myself, something I fear kids now days will never have the change to learn.

I was taught to work for what I wanted, and to keep my wants reasonable. Never in my life would I bite off more than I could chew, as my dad used to say. I can’t imagine using a credit card without paying off the balance every month nor can I imagine depending on others to support my wants. That is something else I am afraid the current generation will never learn.

I know I am the only one responsible for my decisions and the mistakes I make. I call my mistakes “self inflicted wounds” and know to not blame others for them. Anyone can succeed and become almost anything they want to be, as long as they work at it and don’t blame others for their problems.

I often shake my head in amazement when hunters and fishermen blame their “bad luck” on others, or things they can’t control. The wind changed direction and the fish quit biting? Change your pattern, don’t cuss the wind. Someone is sitting on the point you wanted to fish? Go to a better one.

For the new year I plan on living by the things I have learned and that I know will work. I love bass fishing and am determined to think while fishing a tournament, not just go through the motions. If my favorite way of fishing isn’t working I will do something else.

If deer just won’t come by my most comfortable stand I will go to one that is not as comfortable and change my luck. I won’t blame bad luck when I turn my head too fast and spook a deer, I will just move more slowly when scanning the woods. And I won’t climb out of my stand as soon as my feet get cold or I get uncomfortable. I will stay as long as possible to improve my odds.

This next year I hope adults will take the time to work with kids and teach them to hunt and fish. One common character of the students that got into trouble and were sent to my school when I was principal of the alternative school was they did not have parents or other adults that took time with them.

I will never forget the way the kids eyes lit up and how excited they got when one of my teachers organized a scout troop and took them fishing. I hope every kid will have an adult that will light up their eyes. And it seems that kids spending time outdoors somehow insulates them against the things that get so many of them into trouble.

There is an old saying that God doesn’t count against you the time you spend fishing. I hope so, and I am determined to go fishing every time I can, and to enjoy every trip. Even if I make mistakes and don’t do well in a tournament I will try to enjoy the time fishing and learning from my mistakes.

This coming year the counselor and two teachers, with the help of some students at Spalding High are trying to organize a bass fishing club. I will do everything I can to help this club be successful, and encourage members of my two bass clubs to work with them, mentor them and take them fishing.

We live in a fantastic country with unlimited opportunities for anyone willing to take advantage of them. Too many folks scoff at that idea for some reason, but it is true. Nowhere else on earth can anyone achieve their goals like they can here.

I hope parents will be parents, and teach their children to work for what they want and to not blame others for their problems, just like my parents taught me so many years go. The possibilities are unlimited.