Well, it’s graduation season, a time when platitudes flow as plentifully as punch and pillow mints.
The time for oldsters like me to scrounge around in our addled brains for some profound and meaningful bit of wisdom to impart to you graduates, our future. Hopefully, something a bit more inspiring than, “Seriously? You’re how old? Wow.”
Yes, we’re still stuck back in the days you donned a Superman costume and saddled your Schwinn to ride up and down the street. But here you are — all grown up and ready to take on the world.
You’re right. You are not a child. But you might as well get used to reminding us of that, because we forget things.
So, as I was saying: Some day soon, all of this will be yours. Sorry about that. We really did mean to tidy up a bit, but the time just sort of slipped away. Give it a decade or so, you’ll understand.
One minute, you’re planning your Nobel acceptance speech and making mental notes about who to choose as your official biographer. The next thing you know, you’re over in the neighbor’s garage, one eye on that sheet cake with the little frosting rosebuds, trying to sound wise for some poor kid on the cusp of life’s journey.
Which is to say I’m not sure what to tell you about greatness. The best thing I can tell you is this:
Be who you are.
Do what you can.
Try.
It’s not flowery or inspirational, I know.
If I’ve learned one thing in my 36 years walking this earth, it’s that grand ambitions come cheap. So do excuses. Trying takes guts. It’s hard to keep up, and it’s the one quality shared by every person I’ve ever admired.
Yes, sometimes you will fail. You will be embarrassed. You’ll face hardships and challenges neither of us can even imagine.
Life is going to come at you from blind angles. And when it does, you’ll be tempted to give up. To get bitter and look around for someone to blame. You’ll have plenty of company if you choose that route. But it will be poor company.
You might feel foolish, but you will never be sorry if you take your lumps and keep trying.
I hope you win the Nobel Prize. I really do. But more importantly, I hope you have the courage to get out there and wrestle with these problems that are your inheritance. I’ll be first in line to shake your hand if you solve a single one.
But I’ll be just as proud to know you if you try.
That’s it for me. If anyone else here has the key to fame and fortune, would you let me know?
I’ll be over by the cake.
Although “Fame and Fortune” seem to be the moniker for most graduation speeches, there is something to be said for all of those who won’t find much of either, especially considering 46 cents out of every dollar being spent in this current recession by the government is borrowed.
That means you have to understand we are all in this together and some of the basics you learned in grade school are going to come into play:
Treat others, all of them, as you would want to be treated; one never knows when things could turn on you and the person you are looking at could easily be you!
At least act like what you do matters, since it usually does to someone or they wouldn’t pay you to do it in the first place.
Woody Allen said it best, show up: most of what happens, happens purely because someone showed up. If no one does, nothing happens.
Try to be thoughtful of others, the application of just a little effort on your part will potentially give someone the potential of giving you that same thoughtfulness back. It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort on your part, and could reap a decent return for you in the future.