With all of the young 'uns graduating high school at this time of the year, and so many proud parents excited about their offspring,I couldn't help but think about when I was that age, and the journey that is life. Life is the next step in schooling for everyone, and we all graduate in some respects.
"The school of life" parallels the people in the buildings made for education in many ways., Some attend classes that are a little harder than others, some have better teachers who take the time to impart not only knowledge, but critical thinking skills as well. Some work as hard as they can, and still can't get A's while others skate through not really studying, and applying themselves, but still manage to be in with the cool crowd who wear the varsity letters. Some wind up being class clowns in life while others become the A.V. person to call when the projector is broken. Others get their kicks in life being bullies, and stomping their way through the halls while others are terrified daily just going about their business, wondering when something bad is going to happen. Some are outgoing Prom queens, and some are shy ugly ducklings who have a hard time making friends. There are cliques, clubs, teams, animosities, jealousy, and romance, all in the hallways of life also, and there are many many tests where colossal failures, and major successes will transpire. The stakes are much higher in life, because all of a sudden there is the responsibility of you, and the expectations of you are through the roof. It sometimes is a frightening thought for some that being a kid is suddenly over, and what is expected is that you begin to get your act together, be an adult, and start to use some of those tools given to you to make decisions, and act responsibly.
If I could tell any kid out there graduating 5 important school of life lessons that they need to soak up, and apply to be well rounded people in society, it would be these 5 things:
1)Be yourself, whoever that person is, and don't be a forgery of someone else. Whoever you are develop that person to the fullest 3 dimensional individual you can, and keep discovering, and learning, and trying to get better, because you are never done with you, and you are your own reward. Never worry about what others are doing. Be the shepherd of yourself, and not the sheep to others.
2)There are 2 types of people..Good and Bad. The good ones are givers of themselves, and the bad ones are takers from others. It really is that simple. It doesn't matter what race, ethnicity, religion, economic status, or sexual preferences. Align yourself with good people, and you in turn will experience goodness, and friendships. They will teach you many positive things if you listen. Surround yourself with shitheads, and you will in turn morph into one, and have lowered expectations of acceptable behavior, and you will learn how to turn your failures into projections upon someone else.
3)Somewhere in life you will have major disappointment. It is a given, and no way around it, and sometimes it will seem like all of the world is collapsing around you. That's where all of those good people you surround yourself with come into play. They will bring support, clarity, and ears when you most need them. And you will need to return the favor someday.
4)The world and people owe you absolutely nothing. Want something? Move toward it.
5)The smarter you become, the more you will realize how much you still have to learn, and the more you will realize how little time there is to learn it. Whatever you do don't stop trying to learn it because life is fast and before you know it you will be wishing that you had done something earlier. Growth is the most important aspect of learning, because you will be wrong quite a bit, and being wrong means acknowledging it and learning from it, therefore growing from it.
I guess those would be the 5 things I would tell someone about what the school of life teaches. There are many more, with thousands of nuances, but those 5 I guess are in my opinion the crux of what you have to learn, and what I have learned in my life so far. The school of life is never over. there is no summer recess, no getting out of classes, and no drinking beer in the back seat as you try to forget about it. Life is around you, and the classes continue always, even when you think they aren't. Learn all you can, and let someone younger know what the teachers are like. These classes never ever stop until you graduate. When you graduate, it means you are dead. And as far as I know, we all graduate someday.
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