Everybody's Free (to Wear Suncreen)
i've always loved this song... i heard it yesterday and decided to see how i was doing with this advice. here are the lyrics and my tally on how i'm doing:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’9[9]...wear sunscreen. i wear it about 50% of the time i know i'll be exposed to the sun
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 basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have 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. i've already thought about this some, but obviously not as much as i will in a few more yrs
You are NOT as fat as you imagine. yeah, i know
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. now that i have a job and a place to live, i don't worry or even wonder much about the future
Do one thing every day that scares you. i'm not so good at this in my personal life, but i do it quite a bit at work
Sing. i do this often, though typically not in the presence of others
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. i think i am decent at this
Floss. only the week before i go to the dentist and when i eat corn-on-the-cob
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. need to do alot of work on this
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. i think i'm decent at this -- i even put some of the compliments i receive in a txt file to look at on crappy days
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. well, i don't really have any love letters...and i keep all my bank statements
Stretch. at least a few times a week
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. n/a at the moment bc i love what i do and i can't imagine doing anything else right now
Get plenty of calcium. check
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. check
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 what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. i think i do all right with all of these (except that i berate myself too much), though i seriously doubt i'll dance the funky chicken ever
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. once in a while when no one's around
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. i only read them if i can't figure soemthing out
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. check
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. not so much...i know i need to...but...
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. i've always gotten along really well with my brother and since last semester i've gotten to know my sister much better. i know we all need to be allies through whatever any of us may face
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. i realized this once i graduated from hesston college...it's on my mind at least once a day
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. i doubt i'll ever do either of these -- i love midwestern small towns too much!
Travel. not too much yet, but, as i've been saying for awhile, soon
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. i've accepted this, but still complain about each of them
Respect your elders. check
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. check
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. check
Be careful 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. this depends...i can be good at this, but am often really not-so-good
But trust me on the sunscreen.
--Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
i've always loved this song... i heard it yesterday and decided to see how i was doing with this advice. here are the lyrics and my tally on how i'm doing:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’9[9]...wear sunscreen. i wear it about 50% of the time i know i'll be exposed to the sun
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 basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have 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. i've already thought about this some, but obviously not as much as i will in a few more yrs
You are NOT as fat as you imagine. yeah, i know
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. now that i have a job and a place to live, i don't worry or even wonder much about the future
Do one thing every day that scares you. i'm not so good at this in my personal life, but i do it quite a bit at work
Sing. i do this often, though typically not in the presence of others
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. i think i am decent at this
Floss. only the week before i go to the dentist and when i eat corn-on-the-cob
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. need to do alot of work on this
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. i think i'm decent at this -- i even put some of the compliments i receive in a txt file to look at on crappy days
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. well, i don't really have any love letters...and i keep all my bank statements
Stretch. at least a few times a week
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. n/a at the moment bc i love what i do and i can't imagine doing anything else right now
Get plenty of calcium. check
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. check
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 what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. i think i do all right with all of these (except that i berate myself too much), though i seriously doubt i'll dance the funky chicken ever
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. once in a while when no one's around
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. i only read them if i can't figure soemthing out
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. check
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. not so much...i know i need to...but...
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. i've always gotten along really well with my brother and since last semester i've gotten to know my sister much better. i know we all need to be allies through whatever any of us may face
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. i realized this once i graduated from hesston college...it's on my mind at least once a day
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. i doubt i'll ever do either of these -- i love midwestern small towns too much!
Travel. not too much yet, but, as i've been saying for awhile, soon
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. i've accepted this, but still complain about each of them
Respect your elders. check
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. check
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. check
Be careful 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. this depends...i can be good at this, but am often really not-so-good
But trust me on the sunscreen.
--Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune
posted by zippy @ 10:59 PM
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