Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
(It has
been coined the white man's rap song.) Ladies and Gentlemen of the
class of '97, Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for
the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long-term benefits of
sunscreen have been proven by scientists, where the rest o my advice has
no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will
dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth,
oh never mind, you will never understand the power and the beauty of
your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in twenty years, you will
look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now,
how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future or worry
that know that worrying is as affective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt
to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that
blindsides you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day
that scares you. Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's
hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealously, sometimes you're ahead, sometimes
you're behind. The race is long and in the end, it's only yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults. If you succeed in
doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters; throw away
your old bank statements. Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't
know what to do with your life. The most interesting people I know
didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the
most interesting 40-year- olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of
calcium.
Be kind to knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe
you won't.
Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the “Funky
Chicken” on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do,
don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Enjoy
your body.
Use it every way you can, don't be afraid of it or what
other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance.
Even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room..
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