This weekend I went to a high school graduation and didn’t know anyone who was graduating. Normally that would be creepy, but we were there actually to support one of the speakers. It occurred to me that these kids graduating in 2024 went into high school at a time when the world was different. Everything that had prepared them for this moment four years ago has changed.
A Monkey Wrench
As disruptive as this might be, these types of events develop skills that will help these young people throughout their lives. The week before my college graduation I had it all figured out. I knew what I was going to do, and where I was going to live, and I had the girl. Most of it disappeared within the next two days and by the end of summer, it was all gone. At the time it was an “oh $h!t” moment but looking back I don’t know if I would have done it any other way.
They say if you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans. I’d like to think God has a very good sense of humor. Just when we think we have everything all figured out, life throws a monkey wrench. To quote the movie Dodgeball, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”. This is sort of what the universe does for the rest of your life. It will throw something at you that you weren’t expecting so that you will move in a different direction or take some action.
My Graduation Speech
If I was giving the graduation speech, I would tell these kids that at some point in the future, everything they think they’re going to do is going to change. It could be tomorrow, or it could be in 30 years. It could be an opportunity a loss, a diagnosis, a pandemic, or something else. You will always be too old to know everything. And chances are, what you need to know for what comes next in your life, you haven’t learned yet.
That can be scary for most people. But if you can get one of those moments out of the way early on (or at least know they are coming), you can adjust faster. Adapting to change is a skill. Climate change, working remote, presidential elections, wars, and pandemics all can upset the status quo. Complaining and hoping things go back to the way they were is not a strategy that works.
You just need to pick a new direction and learn along the way. The world is constantly changing. We need to adapt to survive. And if we can be comfortable dealing with change, we might actually thrive.
