I don’t believe all the confident bluster for one minute. Beneath it all, a primal truth remains: Graduation from high school then leaving the family home is one of the scariest times in a young person’s life. I rank it right up there with being abandoned on the first day of school at age five or six, knowing you were going to have to fight a neighborhood bully who was going to cream you (boys), or being stood up for a prom date (girls). Actually, it’s scarier than all of those combined.
To combat this fear, seniors effect an air of control or indifference, as if to say, in the words of Alfred E. Newman, “What, me worry?”
The scariest thing of all is that some of these seniors really believe they’re in control and really do feel indifferently about their “commencement.”
To them, I have little to share. My humble reflections can’t possibly overcome such formidable obstacles in outlook. Good luck to them, because they’re really going to need it.
But to those seniors who can acknowledge the biting fear, deep inside of them, that they are about to have their lives changed forever and in unforeseen ways, take my hand. I want to share some feelings and thoughts with you.
1. Stay in touch. Don’t fall prey to that oft-repeated mistake of neglecting those with whom you’ve spent your life up to now. Some distance is good, for everybody. But a continued disregard of those relationships, friend or family, can slowly drain them of their vitality, and render them as hollowed, rather than hallowed, pillars of your life, and theirs.
2. Manage well your time and money. Up until now your folks or teachers did much of this for you. Now, left to your own weaknesses, you need a plan to combat destructive laziness and impulse buying. Note that I’m not against quiet spaces in your schedule where you do nothing or times when a well-deserved splurge will lift your spirits. You know the difference, and having a budget and a schedule discourages dithering away these most precious and scarce resources.
Make time in a balanced schedule that allows for rest and play and work. Budget your money for a balance between obligations and putting some away for notions and dreams and rainy days.
3. Ask for help early. Cut the macho act and get help before any given problems develop into a monster. This goes ...
