11.10.2003
Repost from Katyg3's Site: Graduation Address
I asked Katy if she would mind if I wrote an update for her. She probably think I was being random by doing this but, the truth of the matter is, I wanted to write a graduation address for her and the millions of other kids who are graduating from high school in the next month.
Class of 2002, the world has changed an awful lot in the last century. One hundred years ago, kids your age were adults. They got married, had kids of their own, left home and worked on farms and stuff right after they graduated, sometimes before.
They were adults at 18, sometimes at 16.
Nowadays, most people wait until they are done with college before they take on adult challenges, adult responsibilities.
Back then, if you moved to another state it could be years before you saw your family again.
Nowadays, you can move to another country and still see your folks during vacations, assuming you can afford it.
Back then, if you wanted to communicate with a friend miles away, you had to write them a letter.
Nowadays, one IM and you're communicating like you were never seperated.
Back then, if you wanted to peek in on somebody changing clothes, you were called a pervert and censured by the whole community.
Nowadays, if you don't want to peek in on somebody changing clothes, you are called a pervert and flamed by the whole community.
Yes, things have changed in 100 years.
Back in the day, if the man and the woman's body touched while they were dancing, it was scandalous. Now, "freaking" has made it socially acceptable to simulate sex on the dance floor. I wonder what sort of dancing is going to scandalize your generation when you are old enough to chaperone dances. Fear that day, class of 2002, fear it.
Things are going to change an awful lot in your lifetime. I can't say what the next big change in society is going to be, because it is almost never what you think it will be.
In my life, do you know what the single greatest invention has been? Not the Internet, I'll tell you that! It is the post-it note. Man, if there is one thing that has saved me time, tape and effort over the years, it is those damn multi-colored notes. They used to only come in yellow, you know.
Music and fashion are going to change. Everything that you think is cool now will be openly mocked within the decade. You will look at pictures of yourself now with the same "what the heck was I thinking" smirk on your face that your parents have when they look at pictures of themselves in the 1970's.
Some of your classmates are going to find themselves locked into this year. Some of them will realize that high school was the best time of their lives, that they will never be so cool, so popular again. You will see them in ten, twenty years wearing the same clothes, listening to the same music, and acting in the same way they did in high school. Instead of cool, they will be more than a little embarassing.
And this leads to my message. Class of 2002, you are about to move away from high school. For four years, you have been trapped in a web of cliques and peer pressure. By the end of the summer, these webs will have been laregly torn to shreds. Even if you hated them, this can be traumatic.
However, this means that you have the opportunity to build your life anew. So, as you go off to college, let me give you a few small pieces of advice that will help you adjust.
First, very few college students are going to be interested in your high school accomplishments. Try not to spend a lot of time talking about them - it is undignified.
No matter how good you are at something, you will need to start at the bottom of the ladder and pay some dues. If you work hard and prove your worth, you will earn respect and, eventually, rise to the top again.
As they say on South Park, there is a time and a place for everything, and that is called college. Try not to get arrested, killed or infected, but don't be afraid to take some risks.
That being said, don't feel like you need to compromise your values, whatever they may be, just to have a good time. Mooning the cameraman in Cancun might seem like a great idea at the time, but you're going to be sort of embarassed when your father sees the video. And he will.
Finally, be flexible. Things have changed awfully fast in the last 100 years, and they are just going to change faster. If you aren't ready to change the way you do things sometimes, you'll be left behind.
Class of 2002, congratulations on getting through high school. Drive safely.
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Class of 2002, the world has changed an awful lot in the last century. One hundred years ago, kids your age were adults. They got married, had kids of their own, left home and worked on farms and stuff right after they graduated, sometimes before.
They were adults at 18, sometimes at 16.
Nowadays, most people wait until they are done with college before they take on adult challenges, adult responsibilities.
Back then, if you moved to another state it could be years before you saw your family again.
Nowadays, you can move to another country and still see your folks during vacations, assuming you can afford it.
Back then, if you wanted to communicate with a friend miles away, you had to write them a letter.
Nowadays, one IM and you're communicating like you were never seperated.
Back then, if you wanted to peek in on somebody changing clothes, you were called a pervert and censured by the whole community.
Nowadays, if you don't want to peek in on somebody changing clothes, you are called a pervert and flamed by the whole community.
Yes, things have changed in 100 years.
Back in the day, if the man and the woman's body touched while they were dancing, it was scandalous. Now, "freaking" has made it socially acceptable to simulate sex on the dance floor. I wonder what sort of dancing is going to scandalize your generation when you are old enough to chaperone dances. Fear that day, class of 2002, fear it.
Things are going to change an awful lot in your lifetime. I can't say what the next big change in society is going to be, because it is almost never what you think it will be.
In my life, do you know what the single greatest invention has been? Not the Internet, I'll tell you that! It is the post-it note. Man, if there is one thing that has saved me time, tape and effort over the years, it is those damn multi-colored notes. They used to only come in yellow, you know.
Music and fashion are going to change. Everything that you think is cool now will be openly mocked within the decade. You will look at pictures of yourself now with the same "what the heck was I thinking" smirk on your face that your parents have when they look at pictures of themselves in the 1970's.
Some of your classmates are going to find themselves locked into this year. Some of them will realize that high school was the best time of their lives, that they will never be so cool, so popular again. You will see them in ten, twenty years wearing the same clothes, listening to the same music, and acting in the same way they did in high school. Instead of cool, they will be more than a little embarassing.
And this leads to my message. Class of 2002, you are about to move away from high school. For four years, you have been trapped in a web of cliques and peer pressure. By the end of the summer, these webs will have been laregly torn to shreds. Even if you hated them, this can be traumatic.
However, this means that you have the opportunity to build your life anew. So, as you go off to college, let me give you a few small pieces of advice that will help you adjust.
First, very few college students are going to be interested in your high school accomplishments. Try not to spend a lot of time talking about them - it is undignified.
No matter how good you are at something, you will need to start at the bottom of the ladder and pay some dues. If you work hard and prove your worth, you will earn respect and, eventually, rise to the top again.
As they say on South Park, there is a time and a place for everything, and that is called college. Try not to get arrested, killed or infected, but don't be afraid to take some risks.
That being said, don't feel like you need to compromise your values, whatever they may be, just to have a good time. Mooning the cameraman in Cancun might seem like a great idea at the time, but you're going to be sort of embarassed when your father sees the video. And he will.
Finally, be flexible. Things have changed awfully fast in the last 100 years, and they are just going to change faster. If you aren't ready to change the way you do things sometimes, you'll be left behind.
Class of 2002, congratulations on getting through high school. Drive safely.
