This is an open letter to my generation:
Yesterday I found some time to watch the Olympics. Usually I can’t sit in front of the TV screen for more than an hour, but the athletes’ stories caught me. And when I say “story,” I don’t mean their event. No, that merely represents a climax. Their story begins when Russian gymnast Viktoriya Komova first leapt onto a balance beam or when Michael Phelps first smelled chlorine in his sweat (which swimmers must face after hours training in the pool).
We all prepare for years. The olympians vault, jump, stroke—day in, day out. And it all culminates into seconds—sometimes even hundredths of seconds. For the last two decades our generation—echo boomers, millennials, Gen Y, what-have-you—prepared. We’ve chaired the debate team and shot narratives for student film contests. But unlike the Olympics, there’s no finish line here—no inevitable podium for some worthy competitor. No, in the words of the dude in Baz Luhrman’s song “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen),” “The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.”
Sure, our generation’s race isn’t over. Will it ever be? So, to my fellow graduates and generation, I say to you just one word: breathe.
Breathe. Soak in your accomplishments.
Breathe. Recognize what you want in life.
Breathe. Just as important, understand what you don’t want in your life.
Since most of us don’t have the limitation (or luxury?) of an inevitable ranking or podium, let’s take advantage of this time we have to understand our options. Let’s choose what makes us the most happy and passionate.
Many people will give you advice; they’ll suggest options to choose. Hell, I’m ironically dishing out advice via this blog post. And all of the advice-givers in your life want to see you succeed; they want the satisfaction of giving you a morsel of their life story so that you may take it and construct an outline for your own story.
But I’m here telling you now to take what you’ve read here today and either trash or treasure all of the above. Do the same for the advice Aunt Jill bestowed upon you at your graduation party. Really, I’m telling you right now to shut me up as I pontificate about the world. If advice doesn’t jive with your soul, then get rid of it. If it makes you crack a smile as you peer off onto your golden timeline, then roll with it. In every truth the opposite is equally true. Now it’s time to get familiar with your truth because it’ll stick with you for the rest of your life no matter what.
You’ve done a lot with your years so far—the preparation, the hard work. Now it’s time to breathe. Wait. Be patient and really ascertain what you want.
When you breathe and contemplate about the preparation you’ve completed, then you charge your body with the right tools and mindset to get your gold—wherever that might be.
Love,
Uncle Kevin
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