Hehehe nice one...lol....NOT
This is the Commencement address that Kurt Vonnegut recently gave at
MIT, which is worth reading. Makes me feel a little better about Generation X anyway.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '98:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would
be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more
reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this
advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind.
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth
until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back
at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now
how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you
really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying
is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things
that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside
you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put
up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're
ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and,
in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the
insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank
statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with
your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at
22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most
interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll
miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have
children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40,
maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding
anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself
too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half
chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be
afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the
greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for
good.
Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past
and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a
precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge
the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older
you get, the more you need the people who knew you
when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise.
Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And
when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were
young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble,
and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you
have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse.
But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time
you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with
those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia.
Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the
disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and
recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen. |
