Life is like a box of chocolates...

This past weekend my younger brother graduated from high school. So my whole family loaded into the car, and made our way over to the school to attend the very same ceremony that your own Little Miss Westchester also endured almost ten years ago.

Returning to the scene of so many of my adolescent crimes brought on waves of nostalgia; although all of that was quickly squashed once the lengthy ceremony began and not one, but THREE student commencement speakers took to the podium.

I know it was probably immature of me to roll my eyes during their speeches-but I just couldn’t help it! What do these kids know anyway? The first speaker compared life to a “bike ride” while the second likened it to “a journey.” Frankly, the only speaker who DIDN’T make me want to pull out my own fingernails was the third speaker who suggested that life was more along the lines of an Octopus.....I'm not kidding.

But seriously kids, life can’t be summed up by a clichéd comparison to a roller coaster (the first speaker somehow worked this one in as well); and, if these students had ever actually spent any time in the real world, they probably would have approached their speeches from an entirely different angle. As I sat through nearly two hours of diploma presentations, choir performances, and speeches from various school officials I got to thinking about my own post-high school life, and what my commencement speech would be, you know, should anyone ever ask.

The principal was in the process of handling out diplomas to kids with last names beginning with the letter “P” when I got bored with the speech-writing task and decided to count ceiling tiles instead; but, (loosely) here is what I came up with before I quit.

First of all, I would have told the kids not to worry. I remember being so worried at my own graduation, fretting about what was going to happen to me in college-and whether or not I would make any friends. Certainly college and beyond hasn’t always been a laugh-fest; but THAT’S the way it is. So why waste time coulda, shouda, woulding your time away? You're not going to live forever, and you won't be able to experience emotions anyway once you’ve been cryogenically frozen.

In life, as in high school, there will still be ups and downs. Bullies will still try to rule the roost, and you will still have to go to dances without a date (sigh); but if you’re smart, you won’t make your life about those things. Instead you will focus on doing things that you can be proud of, and creating a story that you would want to read.

Don’t waste your time mourning past hurts, and instead celebrate your chances for a future. (Cue the pyrotechnics and spandex-clad spirit dancers.)