Sunscreen

Ladies

and g

entle

men of

the c

lass o

f ’97,

wear s

unscr

een

If I co

uld of

fer yo

u only

one t

ip for

the f

uture,

sunsc

reen w

ould

be it

Thelongtermbenefitsofsunscreenhavebeenprovedbyscientists

Whereastherestofmyadvicehasnobasismorereliablethanmyownmeanderingexperience

Iwilldispensethisadvicenow:

Nevermind,youwillnotunderstandthepowerandbeautyofyouryouthuntilthey’vefadedBut trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t graspHow much possibility lay before you

Enjoy the power and beauty

of your youth

And how fabulous you really looked

Orworry,butknowthatworryingisaseffectiveastryingtosolvealgebraequationsbychewingbubblegum.

Therealtroublesinyourlifeareapttobethingsthatnevercrossedyourworriedmind,

The kind that blindside you at

You are not as fat as you imagine

Don’t w

orry a

bout

the fu

ture -

4 pm on some idle Tuesday

Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours / Floss -

Don’t be reckless with other peoples’ hearts

Don’t waste your time on jealousy

Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind

The race is long, and in the end it’s only with yourself

Remembercomplimentsyou’vereceived,forgettheinsults

If you succeed in doing this, tell me how

Some o

f the m

ost in

terest

ing 40

year

olds I

know

still d

on’t

ThemostinterestingpeopleIknowdidn’tknowat22whattheywantedtodowiththeirlives

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life

Keep your old loveletters, throw away your old bank statements / Stretch

Get

ple

nty

of c

alci

um -

Bekindtoyourknees:you’llmissthem

whenthey’regone

Maybe

you’l

l marr

y, may

be yo

u won

’t

Maybeyou’lldancethefunkychickenonyour75thweddinganniversaryMayb

eyou

’lldiv

orcea

t40

Maybeyou’llhavechildren,maybeyouwon’t

Whateveryoudodon’tcongratulateyourselftoomuch,orberateyourselfeither

Yourchoicesarehalfchance:soareeverybodyelse’s

Enjoyyourbody:useiteverywayyoucan

Don’t be afraid of it or what other people think of itIt’sthegreatestinstrumentyou’lleverown/Dance-

Donotreadbeautymagazines:theywillonlymakeyoufeelugly

evenifyoudon’tfollowthem

read

the

directions

N

S

WE

Brother and sister

AndI’llbetherejusthelpingyououtwheneverIcanIknowyou’vebeenhurtingbutI’vebeenwaitingtobethereforyou

Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there

Toge

ther

we’

ll m

ake

it th

roug

h

Gettoknowyourparents:youneverknowwhenthey’llbegoneforgood

Benicetoyoursiblings:they’reyourbestlinktoyourpast

And the people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends

But with a precious few you should hold on

comeand

go -

Work hard to bridge the gaps in

Becausetheolderyouget,themoreyouneedthepeopleyouknewwhenyouwereyoung.

geography lifestyle and

LiveinNewYorkCityonce,butleavebeforeitmakesyouhard-

LiveinNorthernCaliforniaonce,butleavebeforeitmakesyousoft/Travel-

Acceptcertaininalienabletruths:

You too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasiseThat when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble,Andchildrenrespectedtheirelders.

prices will rise

politicians will philander

Respectyourelders.

Don’texpectanyoneelsetosupportyouMaybeyou’llhaveatrustfund,maybeyou’llhaveawealthyspouseButyouneverknowwheneitheronemightrunout.Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85

$

Becarefulwhoseadviceyoubuy-butbepatientwiththosewhosupplyitDispensingitisawayoffishingthepastfromthedisposal,wipingitoff,paintingovertheuglypartsandrecyclingitformorethanit’sworth

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Adviceisaformofnostalgia-

Brother and sister

Toge

ther

we’

ll m

ake

it th

roug

h

Someday a spirit will take you and guide you there

Iknowyou’vebeenhurtingbutI’vebeenwaitingtobethereforyou

AndI’llbetherejusthelpingyououtwheneverIcan

Everybody’sfree

Everybody’sfree

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