Dear grads,
You’ve reached another rite of passage. You feel the excitement, the fear, the optimism, and the trepidation for what lies ahead.
No worries, that’s normal; you’re just growing up and finally reaching adulthood. In other words, reality. Yes, that thing you can’t escape unless you lock yourself in your room all day and play Fortnite or bury yourself in Snapchat.
Don’t compare yourself to other people’s “stories,” just live your own life with sincerity. Social media would just love to run (and ruin) your life, but don’t let it. And AI would love nothing more than to take away your humanity because that’s all you’ve got; it’s what makes you real.
Your comfort zone will protect you like it always has, but it won’t let you find the opportunities you deserve, the doors that you were meant to open, the treasure at the end of the rainbow.
Don’t know what to do? Follow your passion. Is it your dream or your parents’? And when you are traversing that path, help others who may have fallen down on theirs. By now you have learned that the world doesn’t revolve around who you see in the mirror every day; it revolves around people supporting each other and lifting the burden of the less fortunate.
Tunnel vision will make you go blind to what’s really going on. You’ve learned to read, but you need to read between the lines.
Don’t become a tragic headline: ‘Speed, alcohol takes young life.’ Your parents’ grief will never end. And never, ever think you are alone in your troubles; there is always someone to talk to, there is always another solution. You will tell white lies (everyone does), maybe even black ones. You may even cheat, but don’t cheat a friend (or a stranger), and most of all don’t cheat yourself.
Learn from your mistakes, and admit when you are wrong. An apology should never be the hardest thing you have to say. Practise it in the mirror because you’ll be saying it a lot.
And when you’re rich and famous, don’t forget who helped get you there. If you cross that thin line into homelessness, keep your head up and try not to point fingers; borrow a shovel and dig yourself out again. Try to think positive because the negative will follow you around like a lost pup if you allow it. And remember, good things come to those who wait.
You’ve heard it many times before — go out and change the world, make a difference. Well, you don’t really have to, but it’s cool if you do. You make a difference every day simply by getting up in the morning and going to work, or watering the flowers. Nothing is more true when your elders say “life is what you put into it.” You can take the road less travelled or the one heavily trodden to see what lies at the end. Don’t need a crystal ball; that would just ruin the surprise.
Lyonel Doherty, editor