High School Graduates

So you're graduating high school.  Whoop dee doo.  I'm not giving you that whole pat on the back, high five, good job, here's $50.

Let your parents do that for ya.

Here's a dose of reality to go forth with.

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Some people think that graduation day is a stopping point.  A close to a chapter.  I'm afraid that is incorrect.  High School graduation is not a closing but the opening to the biggest chapter of your book.  It marks the beginning of your life - your own life - life with no protection.

You are graduating high school - that's nice.  You are also graduating childhood and the protection of mama, daddy, grandma, and great aunt Gertrude. 

You are about to experience that the world does not revolve around you - it never did - it never will.

You are now expected to utilize that brain in your head to be a good person, a respectable person, a smart person.  I don't care what your gene pool lacked or ran amuck with - you are in charge of you and soon you will start to figure out what you need to do in this life - little bits at a time.

And let me state this so everyone can say amen:  Just because you graduate high school does not make you a brilliant human being.  That takes a lot more than finishing Senior English with an acceptable grade.

Starting today you have to man up or woman up to learning who you are.  You think you know who you are but guess what - you won't know that until you're near the end of your life.  At 31 I'm still figuring myself out.  It is a fun process.

My point is - you are not your mother or father or sister or best friend or favorite actor or singer.  You are you and that person is a mystery.  As you step away from childhood and begin to live your life you will be forced to make endless choices that will uncover pieces of who you really are under the façade of who are trying to be.

Here are some tips to helping you along the way:

1.  Go to college.  I don't care if you go 4 year or 2 year just go.  You need a few more years of education on a higher level.  You owe that to yourself to show everybody you're more than a high school graduate.  Maybe your parents did well on just a high school diploma - that is great.  However, this isn't their graduation year and things are mighty different.  You need a piece of paper that shows you can devote time, work, and perseverance to doing something that was optional to you.  You also need the experience of being in an environment that challenges you to think outside the box and see the world with new glasses on.  The social part of higher education is important in giving you not just good college days stories but giving you a sense of the world out there. You need to leave these county lines and see more of the world and allow experience to aid in shaping you.

2.  Don't do the stupid option.  In life you'll have two choices smart option or stupid option.  Always go for the smart option.  The stupid option is often appealing because you're going to want to say "screw societal norms" but the stupid option often leads to unappealing things like a record, Facebook pics that won't go away, a write up in the newspaper, and a smeared reputation for a very long time.  I know you will choose some stupid options in life just make sure they don't put you in jeopardy of a) going to jail  b) being kicked out of school  c) giving you a disease that you can't kill with antibiotics.

3.  Believe in yourself.  Even if your home life is a crap hole you need to believe in yourself.  Today marks the beginning of you making your own way.  You can rise above anything that you think has held you down for so long.  Today you better yourself and do not let anyone stomp on your goals.  Money is not an issue if you believe in who you are and what you are capable of.  Don't think the good stuff is reserved for someone else - the only reservation I see is the one for you not them.  You'll be better, you'll rise higher because silver spoons are just canes for the weak.

4.  Don't be afraid to be different.  High school seems to be a cookie cutter factory of kids all trying to be like the next in their little cliques.  The real world is very different.  It is ok to be yourself and eventually you will find out the best person you can be is exactly who you are not who you are trying to be.  The only likeable you is the one who is real and not a carbon copy of five other people.  You'll get further in life if you break that mold that you thought was cool this year or for the past four years.  The coolest cats I know are the ones who never conformed.

5.  Forget your plans.  The most important lesson is this one.  When I was in 12th grade my English teacher made my class write letters to ourselves about where we thought we'd be at 30.  I was pretty simple with mine:  Live in Florida (because its pretty and warm) and be a writer (hmmm).  I didn't plan to have kids and marriage wasn't interesting to me.  In case you didn't know I do not live in Florida and I am not a paid writer.  I live in my hometown and at thirty I was a stay at home mom with baby number two on the way.  Oh yeah I'm married too.  Do I have regrets?  Not a one.  My point is your life probably won't turn out exactly how you think it should but if you make good choices, get a good education, and get comfy with who you are then as you make your way in life you can't help but be a successful human being.

See...from this point on you are in charge.

Congratulations.

Ok wait there is a number six.

6.  Do not carry a high school mentality with you for life.  It is unflattering.  Branch out babies, do your thing, make your mark, and one day I'll do a blog post on how fabulous you are.  (Maybe then it will be paid hahahahha)

Congratulations again. 

Brownie