Dear Class of 2025,
CONGRATULATIONS! You have overcome adversity, put in the hours of hard work and you are now achieving a major life milestone. You should be so proud of yourself, I know I am proud of you, too! Receiving a diploma at commencement marks the triumphant start of your transition into adulthood. While you may be overwhelmed with big decisions and everyone’s advice, if you can bear with us, we have four thoughts for you to consider.
For starters, please be patient and understand that people generally mean well when they ask you, “What are your plans after high school?” Yes, it is annoying. And to be honest, I do not understand why people still ask grads this question—most of us “adults” have a hard time planning what we are going to eat for dinner, how dare we expect high school seniors to have their next four plus years planned out to the tee. I believe folks are just trying to make polite conversation, so don’t sweat it too much if you don’t have it all figured out because truly and honestly, most of us are just winging it every day and trying our best. Try to think about the big picture of your life; draw an outline of a plan, and fill in the fun details as you go! If you mess up, that’s what erasers (parents) are for anyhow.
Next, I may be going against what you have been taught your whole life, but give talking to strangers a try. Use your best judgment and be safe, obviously, then get out there and meet new people face-to-face. You never know who you may meet and how they could change your life! Learning what you like (and don’t) in other people and being introduced to the world’s diverse cultures can help shape you into a more well-rounded, interesting human being. Getting out of your comfort zone to really connect with other people can help you build a wide range of relationships including acquaintances, co-workers, mentors, lifelong friends, partners and more. Sure, it may be a little scary at first, but practice makes perfect.
I do have a note on the serious business of growing up. I don’t like it. And I must challenge you to consider the idea that you don’t ever have to fully commit to the whole “adulthood” thing. Sure, you will have to pay taxes, feed yourself and other important grownup stuff, but you don’t need to give up your willingness to let loose and have some fun. In fact, I fully recommend embarking on full blown silliness every once in a while, too. Life can get very serious and downright difficult sometimes, but being able to take a break from all of that to find your joy and have a good laugh, well, it will help you your whole life long. And please, if you ever feel truly bogged down by how heavy the world can be, ask for help! There is always someone out in this big world who wants to help you.
And as one of those people who wants to help you, I will give another piece of advice. Take care of you. If you find yourself in a rut, studying in a dark room, or working way too many hours… check in on yourself and consider how you’d be doing if you were a plant. When was the last time you drank some water, ate some food or felt the sunshine on your face? Beyond that, be sure to catch some z’s, get a wellness check and do me a favor and put some sunscreen on when you do go outside. Recharging yourself allows you to keep going, better and stronger, so you too can give graduating seniors advice one day!
Along with my heartfelt advice to give yourself grace, put yourself out there to meet new people, find laughter every day and make time to take care of yourself, I understand that you are going to be getting an abundance of people telling you what to do. As you head to college or start a career, us “been-there-done-that” graduates are trying to share with you in hopes of making your life better or even to save you from hardships that we have experienced, but our experience is not your own. You may hear some good advice (mine, hopefully!) and maybe some intrusive, not-so-helpful advice as you embark on this next chapter… so, take what advice has been given to you with a grain of salt and most of all, be true to yourself and trust your gut. This is your life and you are going to do amazing things.
Cheers to the Class of 2025!
Proudly,
Nola Family Magazine
P.S. Please call home every once in a while, they miss your voice and love to hear from you!