Sarahritchie17 This one’s for the grads.
On this day, three years ago, I graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and commissioned into the world’s greatest Coast Guard. I figure today is an appropriate time to reflect on that. I was 21 years old and excited but nervous. I was always told that I was going to have a bright future, but now I was actually going to start living it. What on earth did that mean?
I look at where I am today, who I’m with, the things I’m doing in pursuit of my goals and happiness. I have learned to cook, fell in love with my best friend and moved in him, grown my investments, travelled, led, learned, run a half marathon, done a triathlon, learned to play the ukulele, read over 15 books, earned qualifications to command a 210-foot ship, guided helicopters to land on that ship’s deck maybe a hundred times, and am currently applying for flight school. If I could go back and paint that picture for myself on graduation day, I would see all my dreams coming true, everything coming together, genuine sunshine.
But when I look back over these past three years, it has not always been that sunny picture full of accomplishments and success. When you graduate, you start over. Not from scratch, but with a promise of potential. That single piece of paper that represents four years of grueling studies, stress, and a whole lot of growing up is also a sign that people believe in you. What you do with that potential is what gets you from there to here and what will get me to the next level and the one after that.
The world is a giant mess of things and life and mistakes and problems laid out in front of you, but it’s also a beautiful wonder of opportunity. Opportunity is yours for the taking, but you have to remember you are young and you have no experience. You have to earn your stripes out there. It’s a wilderness that will scrape and scar you, but you are brave and you’ve learned how to stand up after you fail. You’ve learned that you have to ask for help if you’re going to make it. And you may not feel like you’re qualified for this whole adulting thing, but I promise you’ll figure it out.
I don’t live with regrets, but there are plenty of things I’ve figured out and learned along the way. So without any more ado, here are 17 things I know now that I would tell my younger self.
In Work:
- Make the most of whatever job you get; most people’s first job sucks but you’ll learn so much from it
- Ask the stupid questions, embrace the learning curve, listen well
- Learn to drink from the fire hose
- Don’t become a workaholic; don’t bring work home
- Take your job seriously; you are more important than you think
In Leadership:
- You won’t get along with everyone
- Identify lifelines and mentors early
- Confidence will come in time and with experience
- Stay humble
In Life:
- Make time to stay connected; call home; call your friends
- Your education isn’t over; stay adaptable; keep studying
- Take advantage of opportunities, but don’t say yes to everything
- Have an outlet; keep doing your hobbies
- Focus on what matters – prioritize, improve your time management
- You can try to plan everything out, but things will change; you don’t have to have it all figured out
- Enjoy life in the moment; choose joy every day; stop waiting for someday; this is it
- Remember, you’re not alone
I wanted to go into more depth on each of these, but it would probably lead to a novel instead of a blog post. For now, that’s my list as concise as I can make it.
Of course, I’m only three years into this beautiful journey of life-post-school. I can only imagine the amazing things we’ll all do in the next ten years or so. I hope that you keep learning and keep growing. I hope that for every moment of pain there is a moment of joy and that your hard work pays you great dividends. I believe that success is happiness and I hope that you achieve success not only in the future but in your everyday present. I believe in you.
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Cheers!
Sarah
