My Speech to 2012 Graduates

When I was a student at Watertown High, my parents were constantly disappointed with my academic performance. My grades were generally in the “C” vicinity. I was not one of the honor students who get chosen to speak at the graduation ceremony. Heck, I was just happy to see my name on the graduation program.   

However, despite a mediocre high school career, I did eventually go on to get a college degree, had a fairly successful career, raised a family, and stayed married (44 years and counting). Having made it this far, I wish to offer a few unsolicited  words of encouragement to the graduating class of 2012. 

“Hello graduates. As you sit here today, ready to march into a new phase of your life, many of you probably feel a little uncertain about the future. This is completely normal, because the future is not promised to anyone.   

In fact, if you talk to older people, they will probably tell you, ‘Honey, you have no clue about what you are in for!’ Fifty two years ago, I was sitting where you are now and wondered about the future. When it happened, a lot of it surprised me.  

The journey can be wonderful and wild. Here are a few things I would like you to consider: Your personal view of the world will change dramatically in the next 7 years of your life. You should not do anything that cannot be undone until you are at least 25 years old, on your own and working at a job you like. Delay having children, getting married, getting a tattoo. These are typically choices that people tend to regret after a few years have passed - after it is too late. 

Also, you should not trust anyone who is on commission or on quota to tell you the truth about the thing they are trying to sell you. When I enlisted in the Air Force, three months after graduation, the recruiter, who had a quota to fill, convinced me to sign-up under a different career field than the one I wanted. When I got to basic training and told them the recruiter said I could change fields, they just laughed. I ended-up on a base in Wyoming, working in the maintenance department, operating a traffic marking machine. I do not denigrate the work. In fact, I actually learned some valuable lifelong skills, but this was not what I signed-up for.  That recruiter lied to me for his own benefit.

You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control how you deal with adversity. In the Air Force, I kept applying for a change and was eventually granted permission to switch fields. Later, after graduating from college, I was hired as a headhunter for a Boston recruiting firm. I lasted all of two months before the boss called me in and fired me. I was devastated ... for about an hour, until I realized how much I hated that job. I had been dreading going into the office everyday, and was feeling very stressed. Suddenly, I was free, a weight had been lifted, and my possibilities looked brighter. Within a few days I found a better job. 

The best way to have a successful life is to keep your eyes open, don't give up, keep at it until you find something that you enjoy doing, and wait until you meet someone who will put up with you for 40-50 years (and will edit your writing). 

All the rest of life is window dressing. Thank you and good luck.”