Open Letter To All the 2024 Graduates (And Especially Three!)

It’s an exciting and nerve-wracking time to be in a known transition time of your life – the accomplishment of finishing one chapter in life, and now on the edge of something new.

The nervousness, the anticipation, the slow build of uncertainty & panic.

If I could go back to the point in my life around graduation, here’s what I would say to my younger version:

Dear Younger Self:

Coming to you from the future has its advantages, and clarity is one of them.

Although I can’t tell you what exactly life will look like (the time-space continuum would shatter!), I can share what will matter in the future.

Before we talk about the next stage, let’s ground ourselves to the pages of this ending chapter first.

We are feeling excited but overwhelmed – let’s be honest.

Part of it is that you can see the sunset coming. The colors are beautiful, the sky is glorious, and we love what we see, but, on the other side of that, is nightfall and darkness before the dawn of a new day.

It’s all of those things, all of the feelings, that entire reality held in your mind all at once that makes it overwhelming.

Here’s the thing: we can’t stop or even slow down time, but we can capture it and use that to help propel us forward.

So, first, let’s remember it.

Let’s take photos, create a scrapbook, and plan events to celebrate this accomplishment – graduation parties, gatherings with friends (both with the ones that may be moving away and the ones that are staying in the area), even plan some quiet moments by yourself with an iced tea and maybe a pool (or the ocean!) to put your legs in.

Breathe it all in & capture it in whatever way you can.

Record it so you can remember how good it feels to be on the brink of a great accomplishment.

Let your mind absorb all the goodness right here in the present.

It’s a big deal.

Graduating, getting to this point in your life, has taken years of focused activity – learning, studying, delving into the territory of “new” time and time again. Whether it was being the “new” person at school, taking a completely unfamiliar required class, or navigating learning about who you are and what you are made of, this accomplishment of graduating is a big deal.

It’s not just about graduating school, it’s also about the transition of being more responsible to your own voice and life.

Let yourself feel proud of this moment, this time in your life, without the added pressure of what’s next; That pressure will come, at the very least, in the context of time moving forward. So take some time, maybe a month or two to enjoy the glorious sunset view.

Because whether you are graduating at the top of your class or not, your achievement, and YOU, deserves the recognition.

Step 2 – Look Forward to the Future With Optimism

Second, think of the next chapter of your life as the dawn of a new day. You get to bring everything that you learned from the day before, you get to take all the experiences that’s made you who you are with you and further refine what life looks like.

Just remember, when Harry Potter went to sleep he still had his clothes, wand, and memories with him when he woke up. He was more prepared for his life’s twists and turns then he gave himself credit for, and that is true for you as well.

Even though this next chapter starts with the dawn of a new day, that is just day one: there are many more weeks, months, and years in the chapter. There’s not pressure to figure it all out right now; there’s mindfulness of charting your own path.

The goal of this next phase is to better understand your perspective of the overlapped watercolor view of these three aspects:

1. What makes you intrigued, excited, or happy even.
2. What can you spend time on to make a career out of
3. Type of lifestyle you want

You will say, “But, I have to figure out something now!”

Ok, so let’s do that.

Because I know you, and you absolutely need some sort of road map to feel comfortable about the future.

So, get a notebook. Don’t do it digitally. Not for this yet.

Get a small A5 notebook in a solid color with a fancy pen just for this. Currently we like the dot grid type but don’t remember when that started so explore between lined, unlined, or dot grid options. This will continue to be our go-to size and notebook to think through life. (The spiral bound ones get caught on things in our bags, so opt for the traditional binding, but don’t tell anyone I told you!)

The goal of this exercise is to get a better sense of your desired possibilities without judgement from others or pressures of reality (money, success, etc.): jot down a few options of where to go next, what are the pros and cons, take some time to sequence it out (if this now, then what could later look like?), and add in the mix how strongly you feel about each of them (scale of 1 to 10) and why.

Take some time to consider who you are, what you want and how long you are willing to let it take; use these guidelines to help.

Guidelines:

1. A whole and fulfilling life is based on you. What we will end up doing with our lives can go many ways, how meaningful and customized it is depends of you. Life will go in whatever path the wind goes, if you want to do something different, you have to make some choices with courage.
2. The real world matters and other people’s perspective is part of the view but you do have choice. There are a lot of opinions out there. Decipher if it’s a story, a fact, or a perspective. Some are more relevant than others.
3. There are a lot of people that have made up their minds already both on what they want their life to look like and what they think the best is for you. There are some good insights there, but don’t default to it because it is easy.
4. Money is important but not the only factor. There’s a reason why some cultures default to being a doctor and lawyer as the first and sometimes only choice. But those professions, like any profession, are not for everyone, and nowadays there are more ways to make money than ever before.
5. On the other side of that, don’t give up on something because you think it won’t make money. There are more ways to make money in this day and age that didn’t exist before. Don’t cut off your potential happiness because of a fear of having to work hard.
6. What’s “next” does not mean “forever”. Choose thoughtfully, but if, in a few years, you want to refine it or completely pivot, that’s ok, too.
7. Get comfortable with not having all the answers and letting a future version of yourself help to make important decisions. Set that person up with thoughtful options and great reasoning.

I know that sounds like a lot. Take a deep breath, let it soak in, you will be ok.

Do this by yourself at first and then ask some trusted people their thoughts on it.

Keep in mind that your story is still filling in. You won’t know all the answers to the above. That’s ok. Write down what questions could be answered to help you decide. Think of better questions than the obvious. Ask your trusted group if the connections make sense. Read other people’s stories to help realize no two paths are the same and often the are not linear.

The world is different now than it used to be. (I mean that is always true.) There are more paths, layers, categories, and overlap between work, career, down time, and life. That’s good though because that means that your future has a high probability of turning out amazing.

You got this.

Life will throw some unknowns your way (this I can say for sure!) but you are resilient and you will get through those times.

That being said, it will not always be great nor will it feel great. At all. Your motivation will wane, your will question your identity, your will question life. That’s ok. Question it all.

Here’s the thing though, answer the questions. Decide. Figure out who you will be next with optimism.

Again, you got this.

You know how I know?

Well, first because I’m from the future writing this to you. Duh.

And, secondly, and more importantly because we’ve been through hard things already and that is muscle memory and experience we can use again.

Graduation is an amazing milestone, and this is the first of many.

This next chapter is going to be one of the most wild experiences you can imagine!

There will be drama, love, plot twists, cliff hanger endings turned to surprise beginnings, and excitement!

Lots and lots of excitement!

It sounds like a movie, and it is.

It is the movie of your life and you are in the leading role.

I would say let me know how it goes, but I already know and am already so proud of you. 🙂

I love you, let you love you, and let the world be a better place because of you.

Sincerely,

Me

So there it is – a glimpse of what matters, context of the three watercolors, and a bit of a roadmap activity to get grounded in the next chapter.

Here’s to you for charting new territory and rising in the dawn of a new day.