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Uncertainty has always reigned. COVID is merely the latest example. Who would have expected the Black Plague? The Holocaust? And what’s next: bioterrorism, cyberterrorism?
Hey, today, yes, June 1, 2021, your graduation day—and this is really true—an asteroid that could be as big as the Eiffel Tower is, as I speak, zooming past, hopefully past, the earth. And that’s just today's threat du jour.
Of course, there’s benefit to planning, even long-term planning, but the fragility of life, with tomorrow promised to no one, invites us to perhaps do it now.
Your "Do It Now" could be something as mundane as getting started on a perfectly mainstream career. Let’s say you’re attracted to a stable job in government. Government is growing for now, so should you get started now? Perhaps apply for a federal internship; they're available to both students and to recent grads.
That can lead to a rewarding career. For example, among the most common federal job titles is program analyst. You get to evaluate innovative programs, you start at around 50K and can reach six figures. You start with 10 paid holidays, 13 days of paid vacation, moving up to 26 days, plus you'll have some of the best job security anywhere. Plus, as a federal employee, you get an edge in applying for the tens of thousands of federal openings available every day. So you're not stuck in your first federal job. It's a launchpad.
Want your "Do it Now" to be bolder? How about starting something? Now’s the time, when you don’t have a mortgage, spouse, or kids to support. Scared to do it by yourself? Should you set up a brainstorming coffee with a fellow student, friend or relative? But what sort of business? Sure, you could build an app or open a café, but it could be something non-profity. How about, for example, collecting all the used clothes and furniture that your fellow graduates are cleaning out from their dorm rooms and apartments, sell what you can at flea markets and donate the rest to charities like Goodwill, which helps struggling people get back on their feet by giving them jobs.
Might your "Do it Now" be to go public with your creative outlet, if only at an open-mic or to hang your paintings in a café? Or do you want to think big and try out for America’s Got Talent?
Or perhaps your "Do It Now" isn’t some big project, just an ask. For example, new grads have lots of fresh ideas. Should you write your Big Idea to some policymaker, local or beyond? Should you ask a scientist about an idea that you think might lead to a breakthrough? How about asking one of your former professors that disagreeing question you were too afraid to ask because you worried it would lower your grade. You don't have to worry about that now.
Finally, is there someone you think just could be the love of your life but you’ve been too shy to say, “Hey, wanna get coffee?” Do it now.
So now, raise your hand and announce to all of us one thing, just one thing, you want to do now, and don’t say, “Go out to lunch.”
(After I called on three people). We’ve all promised ourselves that we were going to take some action but didn’t. Might you want to be different this time? If so, do it now—Okay, after lunch.
And with that, of course, congratulations, Class of 2021.
I read this aloud on YouTube.
