My younger brother graduates from college in a few weeks, my sister-in-law graduates from law school shortly afterward, I’m working with a lot of about-to-be-grads in my college course right now, and next week, I begin teaching my juniors about writing the college essay. So I think it’s safe to say that college is on my mind these days.
I’ll probably end up posting more than once about all this, but my first tip for students is to read or hear some great commencement speeches. One of my personal favorites is Steve Jobs’ Stanford Speech in 2005, which must have been amazing to watch. I love how he talks about the impact of that one calligraphy class at Reed, and I love how he talks most about what he’s learned from his losses and “failures,” like dropping out of college or how after he got fired from Apple, the company he helped found, he met his wife and started Pixar.
In the same year (what are the odds?), David Foster Wallace gave another legendary commencement speech at Kenyon College. Two very different schools, speakers, and speeches for sure, but what I love about DFW’s is his elegant and funny way of talking about the importance of choice, consciousness, and awareness, about living a deliberate life and how difficult and essential that can be.
Last, some words from another great writer and cultural figure: Judy Blume! Here’s what she said on an online message board recently:
“Life after college? I wish I could tell you. Life evolves. It never turns out to be what you expected. It’s full of surprises. It’s good to have goals as long as there’s plenty of room to change your mind — and when things don’t go your way, to be strong enough to get through it.”
For me, that little blurb is ripe with absolute truth. Goals are great, but so is strength, and surprises, and the ability to surmount any challenge that comes your way.
So that’s the first step for me– it’s not about your major, or your job, or your student debt, though those are very real and tangible concerns. What you’re facing now is taking your own future into you hands, and figuring out what you want from it, and how you’ll manage the journey ahead. It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, isn’t it?
