http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-schmich-sunscreen-column-column.html

My favourite article is currently known as ‘Wear Sunscreen’ by Mary Schmich from the Chicago Tribune. Although it is officially called ‘Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young’. This article was published on June 1st, 1997. This piece was popularized when Baz Luhrmann read the article word for word at a graduation speech.

This article is an eloquent read. I read it multiple times and found a new layer or meaning to it each time. It holds critical advice for anybody moving into the world of adulthood and independence. Mary uses her witty, humorous comments to her advantage to captivate readers. An example of this is found within the line “Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.” This line made me laugh out loud. But in amongst her humour, she added some ideas that really hit home such as, “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.” Its this balance of heavy hitting lines and quirky observations that make this article so entrancing and readable.

I believe that everybody my age should read this as the finish line to high school looms upon us. Schmich throws the thoughts that keep us up at night out there, assuring us worrying is useless “Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.”  Statements like this are so relevant to me. Usually, articles emphasise on these feelings of stress, so it is refreshing to me that Mary had used a more worldly approach. She put dooming ideas of the future into the context of an enjoyable journey. This article was not only enlightening, but inspiring.