Very Special Episode, Part 3: Vague Status Updates Make Me...

Ok, so far I’ve thrown out my two very important lessons for high school graduates:

            1. No Tourists

            2. Make mistakes

            Now it’s time to wrap it up. Number three for the week is: Be happy.

            I throw this out there because too often, we force ourselves into little boxes and do what we can to make everyone else happy, while ignoring that little voice in our heads that said, “Hey! You used to write plays! You loved doing that! Why are you placing orders into a computer!”

            Keep in mind; I’m not saying that I’m not equating “Happy” with “Easy.” The two terms are often 

times at odds with each other. A lot of the time they battle it out in the arena of your own mind, right in between the dream of you showing up to class in your pajamas and the images you have of that one time that really hot cheerleader asked you if she could borrow your pen. Her hair was pretty that day. **ahem**

 You may even be miserable in the short run. But as long as you ensure that in the long run you are happy… what does it matter? As long as there is a light at the end of the tunnel, miserable will rarely win.

            This is important, because as you continue to grow up and you lose things like “Spring Break” and “a ton of time to go outside and play” you may find happiness harder to find. Not all the time mind you, but there will be moments you’ll be sitting under those fluorescent lights, wondering how much of your soul they’re quietly stealing while you enter in your fifth work order for the day. (Having goofed off for most of the morning.)

            Find what you want to do with life. You’re not entitled to it, and there will be roughly 90 billion people that will do it better than you. But why let a little thing like that stop you?  You have to hunger for it, to want it. You will have to work for it, but at the end of the day, you’ll appreciate it all the more.

            Sometimes, the scariest thing in the world can be make that choice to be happy. Being miserable can be more fun sometimes. After all… being miserable is the easier choice, as I mentioned. You also get to complain more. You don’t get to complain as much when you’re happy. Your Facebook status updates (Or future social media updates, depending on when you are reading this) may not be as vague and elicit as many questions, but it will be worth it when you can come home and be happy at the end of the day.

But do it. And don’t delay. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Also, remember you’re the only one who can find this happiness. No one else can do it for you.

            Good luck class of 2012.

            (Also, sidenote: When I just rerun this series of essays in a year, someone remind me to change the year there. Thanks.)