Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

This is an essay that was made into somewhat of a song by Baz Lurhman. I somehow come across it at least once every year and I always find something new that means more to me now than it did the last time I read it.

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97.... wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience

I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth
Nevermind... you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded
But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked

You are not as fat as you imagine

Don't worry about the future... or worry
But know that worry is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind
The kind that blindside you at 4:00pm on some idle Tuesday

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts
Don't put up with people who are reckless with your's

Floss

Don't waste your time on jealousy
Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind
The race is long and in the end, it's only with yourself

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults
...if you succeed in doing this, tell me how

Keep your old love letters
Throw away your old bank statements

Stretch

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives
Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't

Get plenty of calium

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't
Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't
Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the Funky Chicken at your 75th wedding anniversary
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much... or berate yourself, either
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can
Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it
It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own

Dance
Even if you have nowhere to do it than in your own living room

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them

Do not read beauty magazines... they will only make you feel ugly

Get to know your parents
You never know when they'll be gone for good

Be nice to your siblings
They are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few, you should hold on
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in life, because the older you get the, the more you need the people you knew when you were young

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft

Travel

Accept certain inalienable truths:
Prices will rise, politicians will philander, you, too will get old
and when you do, you'll fantisize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders

Respect your elders

Don't expect anyone else to support you
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out

Don't mess to much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it  will look 85

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it
Advice is a form of nostalgia
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth

But trust me on the sunscreen