Attending a graduation ceremony can be a source of entertainment—especially if the speaker drones on endlessly and should have practiced his speech in front of his grandchildren.
Having family members with attention deficit gives me a leg up on knowing the brain circuits of people with wandering thoughts. Those unique people with ADHD have ruminations that flit like mosquitos around the porch light.
While the graduation speaker challenges the fresh-face youngsters to “go out and be world-changers” --and you watch proud parents take almost as many pictures as when their children were born —my relatives with ADHD are imagining what the parents might be thinking.
When I penned this as a newspaper column years ago, I wrote the following paragraph:
For the benefit of those on the receiving end of the diploma, may I offer a piece of advice? This possibly is the most phenomenal statement you will hear as you graduate: In the workaday world, no one gets paid for breathing. While you are out changing the world, you still need to crank yourself out of bed and do an honest day’s work if you want an honest day’s pay.
Sadly, the world has changed since I wrote those words. People do get paid for breathing now. Ask any employer who can’t find workers because they make more sitting at home, collecting checks.
Smart graduates will realize there is more to life than being on the receiving end of someone else’s hard work. My wise old dad used to drill into our heads this thought, “If I pursue this course of action, where will I be ten years from now?” That philosophy held me steady when things got tough and I didn’t feel like working another boring day. I’m glad I could look back and respect the work ethic given by someone who came up the hard way.
One last piece of advice to the grads, along with congratulations: Go out and learn a skill while you still know everything. You will be glad you did.
What about you? Any advice for the graduates? Use the comment section below.