FROMONLINE | 2013-05-24

  • By Tami Lange
  • May 24, 2013
  • 384
                        
Ah, graduation. It’s a momentous few weeks for our area graduates, as they leave the security of the high school they ruled and prepare to take The Next Step. Because, young ladies and gents, your Real Life is just about to begin. And, contrary to what you might hear, it is not necessary to have the whole life thing cast in marble at this moment. In fact, what you think your life tomorrow is going to be today may well look downright crazy by the time you reach the ripe old age of, say … 30. You’re going to hear a lot of platitudes over the next few weeks and maybe you already have. You’re going to hear speeches at graduation that you think you’ll never forget – but you will. You’re going to have a party or go to a party where your hand will be shaken and rest of you hugged until you really start to believe you’re the best thing since sliced bread. Hold on to that thought. There are going be some tough days ahead. Better you should be warned now. By tough days, I don’t mean tragic days. Tough days are the ones where you’ll catch yourself asking yourself if you’ve picked the right course, the right job, the right major. Tough days are those where you find out an entry-level job isn’t glamorous or even particularly well paying. Tough days are where you have to make decisions that seem like the rest of your life is at stake. But here’s the good news: no matter what you do, the sun will still rise tomorrow. Did you decide the go to college and now you’re having second thoughts? Sun’s still going to rise. Did you decide to be an accounting major and now think communications might be a better idea? Sun’s still going to rise. Did those training courses really “train” you for the job you want? Sun’s still going to rise. Keep thinking … all you’re going to get is a great big headache. The nice thing about The Rest of Your Life is that there are lots of do-overs. I look back at my closest friends from high school and college. Only one or two of them is living exactly the life we all thought they’d be living the day we turned the tassel. My best friend was a theater major, who is now a banker. A high school friend who swore she’d never set foot in a classroom again is getting her bachelor’s degree. Guys who seemed adrift now run their own companies. I like to think most of us have achieved some degree us success, even if it is not the type of success we’d dreamt of as we sat perfectly still in our caps and gowns, watching our pasts flash before our eyes. That’s because the future is a moving target. What you think will define success today won’t even matter in 10 years, or 20. So, welcome to the not-quite-rest-of-your-life. Baby steps. Falling down and getting up and falling down again. This is life, but it’s not as scary as it seems. Go now. Make a mess. Change your mind. You’ve got plenty of time. The sun’s still going to rise.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load