DEAR GRADUATE

Ah, graduation season…

The cap is on. The gown is zipped. You’re sweating profusely because it’s hot and the heat is circulating in the tent of your gown. Your shoes and heel protectors have mud and grass on the soles and sides. Your family and friends are cheering you on from the stands. You’re sitting and waiting forever for your name to be called to receive your diploma/degree, to finally make it “official,” and you realize there are way too many people named Christopher and Hannah. Your phone is full of photos you’ll look back on years from now and think, “Wow… I did that.”

To say you “graduated” is such a huge flex. Whether you’re graduating high school, college, or simply graduating from one chapter of life to the next, there’s one thing most of us have in common:

We all wish we could go back and give our younger selves a little advice.

So I asked our TRI team:

Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self standing there in that cap and gown?

Turns out, we’d all say some pretty good stuff, so pay attention.

FINANCIAL WISDOM

Samantha:

“Stop going broke trying to look rich! Having an emergency fund, savings, and retirement account is the real flex. Save your money! Invest your money!”

Mark:

“If you don’t learn how money works now, you will be working for it for the rest of your life.”

Honestly, this hits. Don’t we all wish we had saved our money?

SHOULD I, OR SHOULD I NOT?

Kim:

“Stop overthinking! Go experience everything you want to experience!”

If you need a sign, this is it – Take the trip. Go solo if no one will go. Try the new thing. Do the dang thing!

KINDNESS IS COOL

Ayin:

“Success will take you far, but kindness will take you further.”

Mike:

“Be KIND, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

Geolyn:

“Be kind. Be curious. Smile more. Talk to people. Be helpful. Compliment more. You never know whose day you’ll brighten, whose path you’ll cross again, or which conversation will open a door you never knew existed.”

At the end of the day, people may forget what you did, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.

YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN, BUT YOU GET UP AGAIN

George:

“Falling down is not failure… Not getting back up is FAILURE!!!”

Matt:

“Don’t be so hard on yourself when you fall. Give yourself grace, get back up, and keep going.”

Life isn’t always a straight path. If life knocks you down, George has already scheduled your comeback tour.

TRUST THE BIGGER PICTURE

Sonny:

“Whatever you do in the company, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for a human.”

Percy:

“If it is of human origin, it will fail, but if it is of GOD it will prevail.”

Louie:

“When you get a job, paid low or high… SHOW UP”

Sometimes the best thing we can do is work hard, stay faithful, and trust the process.

AND FINALLY…

My advice to my younger self…

“You are uniquely and wonderfully made by God. Not every opinion deserves a response. Pause before you react, and remember that just because someone gets the last word, it doesn’t mean they are right. Stay true to who you are because God gave you purpose. The older you get, the more you’ll realize that peace is worth more than being right. Protect it wisely, and don’t let others take it from you. Also, you are THAT GIRL! You got this!”