An Open Letter to the Class of 2021
On my drive to and from work, I pass near my old high school. Along a section of pasture fence people have put up colored banners with Glamour Shot photos of their graduating seniors. This has been a tradition since I was in high school, back in the long ago before times. As I pass by each day I am struck not only by how young they look, but how excited they must be to take on the world. And I wonder if they are ready for what that world has in store for them. I know they’re not, because I wasn’t when I was their age. And I think of what I would say to them.
Here then, is my advice to the graduating class of 2021. Take it with a huge pillar of salt. My world was very different from yours. I came of age without the Internet or cell phones. 9/11 hadn’t happened yet. And if you missed your favorite show, you were out of luck until summer reruns. What’s a rerun? Ask your parents. But I digress. Without further residue:
Many of you are going off to college. It will be one of the greatest times of your life. But don’t let it be the greatest time of your life. Same goes for high school. Your best days should be in front of you, not behind you. Don’t leave your greatest achievement in a dusty trophy case.
For the athletes: use that free ride scholarship to get your degree in some worthwhile field. No one is guaranteed a place in the NBA or NFL. You might have been the star forward or quarterback in high school, but in college you’ll be competing with and against other star forwards and quarterbacks from their high schools. You’re only a wunderkind until your back gives out or your knees go to hell, and they will eventually, trust me. So have an exit strategy that doesn’t revolve around you starring in Bengay commercials or hosting Sportscenter.
Learn how to write a resume and get a job. They do not teach you that in college. Start now preparing for graduation. Network. Create a portfolio.
You don’t have to go to college. Trade school is also an option. Plumbers make big bucks. Plus, there’s lots of well-paying fields you can learn without racking up college debt. Today most anything can be learned online, and for a tiny fraction of the cost of a university tuition.
Don’t go to college just so you can make a lot of money. A field with a shortage of workers when you go in could have a surplus when you graduate. There are things more important than money, things it can’t buy. Friendship. Love. Connections. Community. More time.
No one pays you what you’re worth. They pay as little as they can get away with to keep you from jumping ship and still show a profit. They falsely believe labor is an expense, instead of an investment. Minimum wage is like saying, “We’d pay you less if we could, but it’s against the law.” Don’t rely on only one source of income. Be mercenary. Your employer will better-deal you in a second. Be ready to do the same to them if the situation warrants. Start a business. Create a side hustle. Don’t sell someone else’s stuff. Create intellectual property assets that you control.
Strive to believe as many true things and as few false things as possible.
The number of a belief’s adherents has no bearing on whether or not that belief is true. If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
The world is an increasingly complex place. We can no longer afford to be no smarter than our parents were. Tradition is just guilt trips from dead people.
Learn the difference between a theory and a hypothesis. The actual scientific usage, not the folk definitions. This will hold you in great stead when you argue with the people who did not follow my advice directly above.
Believe scientists and experts over TV preachers, your crazy uncle who every Thanksgiving rants about the “gubmint,” and those guys on YouTube who make videos from the cabs of their pickup trucks.
If you haven’t already, learn critical thinking skills. Learn to recognize logical fallacies in your own thought processes as well as in others.
Learn and practice skepticism, and apply it accurately. Doubting everything, believing that climate change is a hoax, but the Earth is 6,000 years old and flat, isn’t skepticism. It’s cynicism.
For frick’s sake, read a book once in a while.
Mental health is just as important as physical health. It’s not something you have to “walk off” or work through on your own. Look around. The world is a raging dumpster fire. If you don’t get depressed or pissed off about it at least once in a while you’re not paying attention. Don’t be afraid to get help if you need it.
Don’t hesitate to expunge toxic people from your life. Even if they are family.
It’s Ok to rail against an unjust, unfair system. The people who tell you life ain’t fair are some of the ones who helped make it that way. Be sand, not oil, in the machinery of the world.
Near the end of your life, you will regret the things you didn’t do more than lament the things you did. So write a book. Kiss the girl (or guy). Become a ganster rapper. Dance. Smash the patriarchy. Cosplay. Launch a killer app. Punch Nazis. Become a Tiktok influencer. Lead the resistance. Learn the guitar. Play chess. Cure cancer. Go down the hole smarter than when you came out. This is the only life we know for sure we get. So make the most of yours.
I think that just about covers it. The grand strokes, the big things, anyway. You are all unique, and your experiences will be unique to you. Your mistakes will be different. Your triumphs will be different. Your joys and tragedies will be different. But if you keep just a few of these things in mind, I think your walk across this Earth will be at least a little bit easier than mine has been. Good luck to you, Class of 2021. I have no doubt that many of you will go on to do many great and wonderful things. I hope you take some of the words of this curmudgeony Gen-Xer to heart. Peace.
