Kurt Vonnegut's Commencement Address at MIT | |
"Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97: | |
Wear sunscreen. | |
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The | |
long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the | |
rest of my advice has no bsis more reliable than my own meandering | |
experience. I will dispense this advice now. | |
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not | |
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust | |
me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way | |
you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you | |
really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. | |
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as | |
effective as trying to solve an algera equation by chewing bubble gum. The | |
real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your | |
worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. | |
Do one thing every day that scares you. | |
Sing. | |
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who | |
are reckless with yours. | |
Floss. | |
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. | |
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in | |
doing this, tell me how. | |
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statemnts. | |
Stretch. | |
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The | |
most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with | |
their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. | |
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're | |
gone. | |
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you | |
won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on | |
your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself | |
too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are | |
everybody else's. | |
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what | |
other people think of it. It's the greatest instrment you'll ever own. | |
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. | |
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. | |
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. | |
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be | |
nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people | |
most likely to stick with you in the future. | |
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold | |
on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the | |
older you get, the more you need the people whoi who knew you when you were | |
young. | |
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in | |
Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. | |
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will | |
philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that | |
when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and | |
children respected their elders. | |
Respect your elders. | |
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe | |
you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run | |
out. | |
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85. | |
Be creful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply | |
it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the | |
past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and | |
recycling it for more than it's worth. | |
But trst me on the sunscreen." |