Kay Harris
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
Over the last week or so, thousands of high school students in our area have graduated and are preparing for their next step in life. Some are going straight to college, others are seeking military careers, some are going straight to work, and there are most likely quite a few who have no real plans or idea what to do next.
Although there are a lucky handful who already have their futures planned out, and they know what they’re going to do, where they’re going to live, etc., most graduates are still figuring it all out.
It’s hard to say whether graduates of today have it better or worse than it was back in my day, but it certainly is much easier to go to college and find a way to pay for it today than it was a couple of decades back.
And even in “my” day, women were still very much in the minority at most universities, whereas today, they are the majority. There were fewer choices for majors, and you pretty much went liberal arts, business, engineering or pre-something, like pre-law or pre-med. You don’t hear that anymore, and there are hundreds of careers and majors to choose from, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to decide.
And maybe that’s the lesson new graduates should learn first — there are many many choices facing you today, and you have opportunities that your parents and grandparents never had.
You have your whole life ahead of you, but don’t squander the next few years on activities that may come back to haunt you in the future. With choices comes responsibility, and it’s up to you to decide how your life is going to be. But these next few years are crucial to getting there, so make your choices wisely, and welcome to the real world!
Business Roundup
The groundbreaking for Manny’s Sub Shop was held on Friday at the site on Baytree where the Zaxby’s used to be. After Zaxby’s burned last year, they rebuilt on St. Augustine and added a location in Lake Park, so they sold the property near VSU to the folks developing Manny’s, a new concept they are hoping to develop into a franchise at some point. I’ll have more details on Manny’s next week. The Publix building permit is in the Homefront section today, and now that the site preparation is about done, the actual construction on the half-million-plus building on Inner Perimeter can begin. There will also be adjacent retail locations and I’m already hearing rumors about what may be going there.
Still no word on Heilig Meyers or Loco’s. Still hoping the Realtors who are selling these properties will let some information out soon.
The construction on the new overpass on Highway 84 should be beginning at just about any time. Most all of the businesses between the triangle where the road splits into two one-way streets through downtown and the railroad tracks will either close or relocate, and several more on the west side of the tracks will have to go as well. Sad to see Gibson McDonald go. Construction on Gander Mountain is going quickly, and so is the site preparation for Academy Sports, both on Norman Drive. They’re going to be very large stores and both hope to open by Thanksgiving, so they’re really going to have to hustle to make it in time, but they certainly have a good head start.
A few readers have asked this week about Moe’s by Kohl’s and, sorry to say, that yes, they’re closed and it doesn’t sound like they’re going to reopen, so we’ll see what happens.
That’s it for this week, but have a safe holiday weekend, and as always, if there’s something I missed, please let me know!
