The Graduate

          I know a lot of people graduated this weekend. Earmarking a pivotal time in their lives, and even quite possibly an important movement in the world and particularly our generation. 

Going to school today is essentially saying that even tho the economy sucks, there's no jobs, and tuition continues to rise, that you're still going to believe and invest in the improvement of your life and the education that comes with it. It's putting aside off the distractions that exist in the world, and committing to not be strayed by all the hardships that enter your life.

Students that just graduated find that all of the things that were once so important become surprisingly minute compared to what their life has now become. They find that the majority of their successes and failures, and their temporary struggles all shrivel to irrelevance. It no longer matters the exams you passed or failed, or the courses that you slept through, or rarely showed up to on time. Most of the grudges, resentments, and disappointments that once seemed so important, soon disappear. Behind that cloud of obscurity lies new motives and dreams and a livelihood for your future. What lies in the distance is what may or may not take over your life forever. 

You see, as hard as school was, the good and bad times, the uncertainties and insecurities all soon fade away. You're immediately confronted with real life. You're immediately faced with your next step in your future and the world's idea of the "American Dream".

You'll find that the decisions that you make in that instance can define who you are for the rest of your life . What you bring to the things your life touches, along with what you learn determines the ways in which you affect the world forever. 

Every person, entity, organization that you encounter is looking for their story, as are you, and the way in which you interact with them may forever change them in whichever way that you choose.  

You'll find that the measure of who you are and who you become is simply what you choose to do with what you have. The choices that your class, along with the rest of your generation make will decide the fate for the rest of the country. 

We don't realize how strongly we affect the things around us. We don't realize that underneath all the nonsense, the incessant texting, obsession with social media, and all of the terrible strategies, that we are still a generation of incredible change. We believe in furthering equality and innovation. We're a generation that is prospering through war and a terrible economy. We are anything we want to be.

So, I encourage you to think strongly about the life that makes your heart beat, and not the qualities of the world that make them glorify you. I encourage you to take heed to the box that the world has put you in. To realize that the world has put parameters on everything that you can do. That they judge you based on how much money you make, the color or your skin, and what neighborhood you come from. They you tell what sex and race you can and can't date, and spell out a body type that's socially acceptable for you. The world puts you in a tiny box and in an attempt to fit in, we find ourselves conforming to it. We find ourselves chasing dreams that we don't believe in, simply because they told us to.

          I encourage you to put yourself in places where the opportunities are endless, and forget about the standards that the world has created. I encourage you to set goals that people believe are unrealistic, and consider the idea of what it feels like to not conform.   

I simply encourage you to be more than what they said you were.
          Because in between the Miley Cyrus', the social medias and the marijuana craze, we are still one of the greatest generations to grace this earth.
          I'm not requesting that you start a riot, or that you act differently than who you are, but I do request that you to be better than who you were yesterday. That you attempt to be better than the front runners of today, and that you dare to be different in the most forward direction possible.