Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann

For most people High School graduation is considered a "Defining Moment".  I'm sure you've heard your English teacher toss around that phrase quite a bit - it basically means a moment in your life that defines you as a person.  It may not be that exact "moment" that you receive your diploma, however it will certainly be in one of the "moments" that follow.  This is it kid.  From here on out you get to do what you want (mostly).  You can choose College, University, job, whatever, but the point is - it's all you.  I remember looking around at my graduating class (approx. 50 people ... small town), and feeling a bit sad, and a bit scared.  Despite not really caring about some of the people in my graduating class, these were the people I grew up with.  Some of them I"d known since kindergarten, some were my best friends.  These were the people that I got drunk with for the first time, smoked my first joint with, and made out with at random bush parties. These were the people I'd made fun of, and fought with, and hated. If nothing else they were familiar. And familiarity is comfort.

Being from a small town meant if I wanted to have a career or continue my education I'd have to hit the road. That road was going to be Thunder Bay (only about an hour away),  but still, from this point on this Chickie was booted out of the proverbial "nest", and expected to fly (mostly) on my own.  My parents gave me a book when I graduated, the requisite "Oh The Places You'll Go", by Dr. Seuss. That book is pretty much loved and read by everyone, from 3 to 103.  It's message is clear:  there is a whole world of things, places and possibilities out there , and it's up to you what you make of it.  At my first "big-girl" job,  day one - I wrote out a quote from the book and stuck it to my bulletin board.  Five years later it's still stuck up, on a different bulletin board now, as a reminder that I am the one in control of my life.  "You have brains in your head. you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

At my graduation we played the typical Green Day, "Time of your Life" anthem, and some horrid song  by Vitamin C (ughh).  The song we should have played is , "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".  It's not really a song in the sense that it's very musical. It has a background beat and some samples mixed in, but mainly it's spoken.  In 1997 Mary Schmich published an essay called "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" as a column in the Chicago Tribune.  Schmich explained that if she were asked to write a commencement speech this is what she would write. Urban legend followed the essay, and it was commonly believed that the infamous writer, Kurt Vonnegut, had delivered it as a commencement speech at an MIT graduation ceremony. Even after Schmich wrote a follow up article discrediting the rumor people still believed it. When Baz Luhrman tried to get permission to use the essay on his album, he initially tried to contact Vonnegut in error to get permission.

If you're looking for something to rock out too, this is not your tune.  If you're looking for some philosophic advice on your future - definitely listen, and listen carefully. This is one of those songs where you're going to want to read the lyrics.  The song distributes the kind of wisdom which can only be learned from experience, like,  "Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday."  It tells you to "sing", "dance", "floss", "stretch",  and "Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good."  As for your siblings it reminds you to  "Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future."  As for friends, "Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young"

Of all of the advice that is dispensed there are two pieces which have always stuck with me.  I find these two pieces to be the most true and excellent pieces of advice you can try to live by.

"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 be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours"

Listen to this song, and think about it.  I mean actually think about it. Take one of these pieces of advice and and follow it. Memorize it and try to incorporate it into your life.  

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 proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or
reliable then my own meandering experience.  I will dispense this advice....now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and
beauty of your youth until they've 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 worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

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 Calcium.  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 on 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 no where to do it but 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're 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 what a precious few should hold on.  Work hard to bridge the gaps
and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, 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 fantasize 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 too much with your hair or by the time you are 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 wishing 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, I'm the sunscreen.