I keep in close contact with many of my former classmates and campers and as a result, every year I am watching people make a new beginning. Middle schoolers advancing to high school, high school seniors making their way to college. Nearly all of them pose the question to the world "What advice would you give me?"
I just began another adventure and if I had to give myself advice, this is what I would tell me.
Go to class. Absorb the material. Even if it is a boring subject and the reading is long and dense, find some way to be familiar with it. And not for some test or some essay you need to write. 10 years from now you won't remember the test but you will want to be familiar with those authors and subjects you studied. It would be a waste of time and money if you forgot everything you learned just because you crammed for a test or for class one day and promptly forgot it once you covered that subject. I've fallen victim to this too many times. You go to school to learn...make it about more than the test.
Make memories. Go to that dance, that party, that event, and meet people. You never know how things will turn out in 10 years. One of those could turn into the best "remember the night we became friends?" moments. Have those experiences because you can't replicate them or get them back. Integrate yourself into that community.
Capture the memories. Take pictures of everything and videotape even more. It's worth the 2 minute awkward "will you take a picture of me?" moment. When you've been part of something for long enough you tend to forget what it was like in the beginning. Having photos or video records of it reminds you of where you came from and gives you a chance to smile and reminisce months or years later. I am forever grateful that there is a picture of me with my best friend the night that we (unofficially) became friends. All because someone had the thought to capture the moment. Pull out that video camera when something happens. Some people may clam up and run far away but the moments that you do manage to capture become like a time capsule. I didn't start really taking video until I was a junior in college and I can't tell you how much those videos bring me right back to where I was at that time. I feel the same emotions watching the videos as I did when I was experience it first hand.
Write in a journal. I blogged on and off through some of high school and college but I didn't consistency record my thoughts until my internship. At the time it was part of my course requirement and when I went back and read through my posts, I realized how much I treasured them. It wasn't me going back and trying to fill in the gaps about what life was like when I first started working at the Willows; I had recorded memories about every high point, every anxious moment, everything I felt. It amazed me how much I grew as I became more acclimated to the theatre and also how much didn't change--I loved the Willows from day 1 and my love never wavered. Take the time to write down your own thoughts and memories. You will literally see yourself grow.
Above all, enjoy the time you spend somewhere. Nothing is permanent. Graduation, job promotions, closures, and new opportunities are all inevitable. Everyone says that "don't worry about grades, they won't matter after awhile" and it's extremely difficult to accept that when you're in school but it's true. Everything will work out the way that it's supposed to even if you get a poor grade in a class. If you make a mistake at work, move on from it. Your overall experience is going to shape your memory of it.
The end is not the goal. The journey is the goal.
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