My thanks go out to my Cucina Chatter pal Lorraine Ranalli. She hosts a weekly gig on WWDB.
This week she focused on the topic of commencement speeches. For some reason she reached out to me.
Well, she’s the first one. I’ve never been asked to give a commencement speech.
So I made my debut on her radio show yesterday morning.
Here’s what I said:
Let me be the first to congratulate you on reaching one of life’s milestones. Now put down your cell phones. Stop texting, tweeting, or posting on Facebook. Talk to people instead. In person, face to face.
You’ll be amazed at what else you can learn.
Now that I have your attention, let me be the first to deliver this bit of sobering news:
Now comes the tough part.
Life is hard.
You are about to find out just how hard. For those of you who have been searching desperately for a job utilizing those skills in art history you’ve been honing the past four years, this may not come as a surprise.
This, however, might.
Don’t sweat it. That’s right. Don’t panic if you have not secured that six-figure position you thought was your birthright and accompanied the piece of paper you clutched to your chest as you walked off that stage.
In fact, don’t be consumed with work. You will get to it, eventually. We all do.
You are going to work the rest of your life. Take it from someone who this week will mark 30 years of walking into the same building. Don’t be in such a hurry to enter that life. I know you have loans. I know you have lots of obligations. I also know you’re only going to be young once.
See the country – or the world. Don’t just tell your parents I suggested it.
Try not to think about money. Instead focus on making a difference, in your family, in your community and in your world. It’s the only one we’ve got.
Volunteer. You are highly educated young men and women. Consider putting that brain power to work for the public good.
Don’t be afraid to fail. My goal every day is to create the perfect newspaper and website. Life is not baseball. There are no perfect games. It is the imperfections – and how we react to them, that defines us.
That is part of the reason I caution you against rushing into the workplace. I know, it’s sacrilege. So go ahead and sue me. Everyone else does. Get a number and get in line.
Use your time wisely. Video games will only get you so far. You have something that I do not. It’s not something I cannot acquire, that I can’t buy. You have time. Don’t squander it.
Do not underestimate how quickly that time goes by. I could swear it was just a few days ago I was sitting where you were, wondering who this blowhard was and what qualified him to be telling me what to do with my life.
Actually, you’re one step ahead of me. I graduated from college at the end of the summer semester and did not go to my commencement. There is not a day that has gone by since August of 1978 that I do not regret it.
Be happy. The world is full of unhappy people. I think I talk to most of them every day. I actually stole that one from the remarks of Randy Helm. He’s the president of Muhlenberg College, where my son graduated just a few weeks ago. I smiled when he said it. A lot of parents did likewise. They know something these supremely well-educated young people do not. Life is hard.
When you are ready to enter the workplace, find something you love. The guy who said that if you do something you love you’ll never work a day in your life knew what he was talking about.
Don’t forget to unplug. Put down the cell phone. Shut off the laptop. Don’t reach for that iPad. “86” the pager.
Take a walk. Check out a book. For God’s sake, read a newspaper.
You have received the best education money can buy. Take a look around before you walk off the stage. How many of those faces were complete strangers when you arrived four years ago. How many still are? How many are now like family?
The world awaits. Yes, it is hard. But you are prepared.
Make us proud.
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