Consider this : the best days of your life will sneak up on you.
At my high school, Class Night was a bigger deal than graduation. On Class Night, the principal gave individual seniors awards from each different department; the teachers in that department chose the winners based on grades and participation and general enthusiasm. I'd been involved with music, theater, and the school newspaper for years, I thought for sure I'd get at least one award.
I went home empty handed. I was devastated.
Sixteen years later, I don't remember who won the awards I coveted at Class Night. I do remember the trophy our show choir won the week before graduation. I remember opening night of our spring musical, the first (and only) musical I was cast in. I remember sitting at my best friend's kitchen table, laughing as we put together the 'senior predictions' issue of the school newspaper. I remember sitting on the porch for an entire day that summer, lost in Pamela Dean's Tam Lin. I remember seeing Singing in the Rain at the Muny, my legs sticking to the seat in the humid summer evening as I sang along under my breath.
Those big milestone days that everyone tells you will be the best days of your life – graduation, wedding, your 21st birthday … don't count on them. Don't build them up to be The Only Day That Matters. The best days of your life will sneak up on you. You'll be sitting in your friend's living room after a day of decorating her house for the silliest theme party you could have ever imagined; you'll grin at each other, and you'll realize that you've just experienced one of the Best Days. Those days are amazing gifts, but you can't plan for them. No matter what movies and TV tell you, there is no universal day on which every person in the world will experience true happiness. Right now, graduation might seem like the day you've been living for, but the fact is, it's the living you've been doing that counts. Just experience everything, and you'll accumulate a whole list of Best Days before you know it!
– Jaime
http://www.consequencefree.net
I am gathering wisdom from the far corners of the earth to give my older daughter, Emma, as she graduates from high school. What would you say to her? Or to your own 17-year-old self? What thoughts would you ask her to consider? You can submit your advice (instructions here) and 37 of those will be posted over the next 37 days, one each day, culminating in a free e-book of all the submissions (whether posted during these 37 days or not) after her graduation on June 14th…. and possibly in a print book as well.
