Words I Would Say at Your Graduation…..

It’s commencement/graduation season. So many people are graduating from high school, 2-year programs, 4-year programs, Master’s degrees, and beyond. Every ceremony will have a speaker who will try to impart words of great wisdom. I wish you, and all of you, well. Very well, in fact. Well enough that the speech is memorable, inspirational and remembered, and well enough that you find jobs/careers you love and that pay enough for make your lives not stressful…..

Several years ago, I was asked to speak at the Winona Rotary Job Shadow program. This pairs high school seniors with professionals in our community, to give the students a chance to see if the careers they might like to do are actually the careers they would like to do. Kudos to everyone involved in this program, from the organizers, to the school counselors who help make the connections, to the professionals who are willing to give a day of their time to 17- and 18-year-olds.

I was so glad to be able to speak to the students (coincidentally, the fall our son was a senior). At first, I had no idea what to say, but then I boiled it down to six “simple” steps. I still stand by these ideas…. there may be many others I missed, and I may have missed the boat on some of them, but here’s what I think young people should think about as they are considering their futures:

#1 – At this point in your life, your choices are nearly endless.

Most adults are asking you what you want to do, what you are planning to do, what you are going to do. If you know the answers, great. But most young adults don’t. And that’s ok. You are going to continue your education, or pursue a trade, or enter the military…. to see what you want (or DON’T want) to do. You have time. Be gracious with the adults; they are trying to engage you in conversation, and not trying to trap you into anything.

#2 – You don’t have to make lasting life decisions right now, or even in the next couple years.

The next few years are a time to explore. If you’re going to college, take gen. ed. classes, but also explore some things you may never have thought about. Even if you’re pretty sure you know what you want to do, take a class or two that may not seem practical, but is interesting to you. You never know where it might lead.

#3 – What you want to do now is probably not what you’ll do your whole life; AND More than likely, the job that you have when you’re 40 will either be something you’ve never heard of, or doesn’t even exist today.

#4 – Be open to learning, during your entire life. Take advantage of any and all opportunities that are made available to you. Be open to new experiences.

#5 – Learn from every experience you have.

#6 – And, finally – Figure out what you’re passionate about, what you love. See if you can make a life following that passion.

Finding your passion and following your passion will take you so much farther than Plotting Out a Career Path. Now, if those things happen to merge, so much the better. But, the passion and the dreams will be much better over the course of your lifetime.

Good luck. Congratulations. And best wishes as you find your future and your goals.

 

For the Mothers, and the “Other Mothers”

Tomorrow is a day to celebrate mothers.We will all contact our moms, send them flowers or another gift, take them out to lunch and generally show them how grateful we are for their love.

At least, if we’re lucky. If we have moms. If our moms were or are kind and decent and loving. If our moms are able to accept our love.

For the record, I have the best mother in the world. At least in my world. Other people might have the best mothers in their worlds, but mine is perfect to me.

That being said, it’s not only our own mothers many of us celebrate on this day and other days throughout the year. It’s also the “other mothers,” the women who add to our lives, by being there when we need… by mentoring us…by encouraging us…by showing us how we can be better people, how we could learn to be strong and wonderful women ourselves.

These “other mothers” can be aunts, grandmothers, older sisters. They are the parents of your friends, the friends of your parents. They are the neighbors next door or down the street. They are the teachers, the “lunchroom ladies,” the school secretaries.

Many women who don’t have children of their own (biological or adopted) are “other mothers” to many. Any woman who cares about even one child in the world, and lets that child know she cares, is an “other mother.”

I have been fortunate. I have had so many “other mothers” throughout my life. I won’t name them (mostly because I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out), but they have all contributed to who I am today. Thank you to all of you. I salute you.

Between my mom and all my “other mothers,” I am so blessed.

Happy Mother’s Day to you. Celebrate the love.