Advice to Graduating Seniors

A message to all graduating seniors:

Throw that diploma, throw the cap in the air and prepare for a bumpy ride.

What do you want to do with your life?

As you get older, fatter, and slower (which I know sounds unlikely to you right now) some of those things might not be as easy as they seem right now. So use your time wisely.

And it’s kind of a loaded question because despite what you might think, you hardly know who you are. You’ve only lived a small fraction of your life.

• So make a list of EVERYTHING you plan to DO with your life.
• Write it down in a notebook.
• Don’t worry about how crazy or insane it sounds or how it’s ever going to happen.
• Just make the list.
• At the end of every year see how many things you’ve managed to cross off.

1. Don’t celebrate just yet

Congratulations. We graduated high school. It is, most likely, no easy feat but things are going to get much more difficult for us. What matters now is the work you put into your life, not what you accomplished in high school. Never be satisfied with your achievements, be prepared to become an over-achiever.

2. Be ready to become the person you always wanted to be.

College, or the beginning of a career, is a time for transformation. Humans have a hard time breaking out of the personas they choose for themselves, but you are at the perfect age to become whatever you choose. Hated the crowd you hung out with? Find out what you like in people and go find them. Nobody can tell you who to become, that is a choice you make yourself.

3. Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up and get a real job.

Embrace your curiosity. Study how to make films, cook delicious food, make good art and other things that seem like they have no practical purpose. In indulging your curiosity you’re much more likely to find a calling which beats the hell out of a career.

Maybe college isn’t part of your plan. You can take big risks, the kind that your parents, peers and society might initially frown upon, but will ultimately cause you to grow in ways you never imagined.

Make living your art, and life your canvas.

As long as you keep walking towards the mountain you will be alright.