Advice for Grads

    I wish someone had told me these statements when I graduated from high school. But maybe they did...and I wasn't listening. They would have helped me avoid several stupid decisions and life mistakes.





*Always save something -- no matter how little. Even a dollar a week adds up in the long run. (In fact, saving regularly through my high school years, working at Rogers Hardware, meant I could afford to go to college. And that definitely changed my life.)

*Never spend more than you earn. No matter what. If you're not making enough, cut back, or get other work.

*Credit cards are great,  provided they have no annual fee, and offer rewards. BUT pay them off every single month, without fail. The month you can't is the month you should stop using them...until you can.

*Learn at least three skills that you can use to make money. Even if these aren't what you want to be doing all your life, they'll keep the bills paid. One of the skills should be food-related, if possible -- people, whatever the situation, will always need to eat.

*No job, if it's honest work and pays the bills, is ever beneath you. Be willing to scrub toilets, dogsit (including picking up poop),  wash dishes (and people), and clean up. Often these jobs are tests, to see if you're trustworthy. And they're almost always available, when other work isn't.





*Be willing to help out. Even the Queen  schlepped her new granddaughter's dog to the palace for the festivities. 

*Always be reading or studying something new -- preferably unusual or controversial. It gives you something different to think about during hard times, and provides an interesting source of conversation when meeting people.
     It may also open the door to a new opportunity you never figured on. My hobby of Bigfoot sightings certainly has done this. The latest book has had a lot to do with my collection of oddities, as well.

*Learn a foreign language. Or two. Or three. Even a few sentences come in handy. (In our area, Spanish is first...but I also speak a little German, French and a few words of Portuguese and Romanian.)

*Talk to strangers, particularly older people. You will learn so much; just be careful about where and when you do it. Public places, around other people, are best.




*Listen and ask questions -- you will learn so much more than if you try to impress them with your auditory brilliance. Even if you're sure of the answer, ask questions -- you may learn another reason or nuance that's important. (Secondary note: never assume that someone who does ask questions doesn't already have a pretty good notion of the answer! Like Steve Jobs, for example.)

*Be careful who you commit to. Make sure your friends and partners worth it. Once you do, though, give them your complete loyalty and faith.

*You are not perfect. You never will be. All that's asked is that you do the best you can -- and forgive yourself for not being flawless. That's Someone Else's job...

*Use your time and energy wisely. You only get so much -- wasting it on getting drunk and high is just that -- a waste.

And most importantly:

*Ask God for help and guidance in everything, large or small.

He has never failed me. Not once. He cares about you, too.

All photos from PInterest

Twenty best graduation ideas here, including announcements and parties --
          from Fine Crafts Guild.