Please Help! Need Some Words of Wisdom!!!

One of my favorite quotes:

"Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end."

I've found this to be very true, and remembering it has helped me through some tough times.

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when I graduated and went to college my Dad told me "You can be whoever you want to be. No one knows who you were in high school." it may sound simple but that thought helped me be a much happier person.

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Experience and some dear friends have taught me the following:

Respect yourself, and appreciate your life. YOU are the greatest gift you'll ever receive.

If you could know everything there was to know about another person, you could not help but love him/her.

If there's something you dislike in another person, you will find that quality hiding in yourself if you pause to look. And if there is something you admire in another person, you will find that potential hiding in yourself if you search for it.

You can't change other people. Ever. You'll be happier if you don't expect to. It's hard enough to change yourself.

Always give 100 per cent, even if everyone around you is giving less. You'll look back on your life with a sense of satisfaction someday. The Beatles said it this way: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

The "simplest" rule of good relationship is also the hardest, but well worth the work: Don't let your pride get in the way.

Avoid gossip. It tarnishes us, even if it feels good.

Be truthful to yourself and others. An honest reputation is a beautiful thing.

The "rules" about how the world works are only a collective best guess. Don't be afraid to look, wonder, and question.

Never stop learning. Never stop learning. Never stop learning.

(Happy birthday to your stepson!)

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The poem, Desiderata. It was quite popular for high school graduations about 40 yrs ago. (I received many cards with it!) This year I copied it and we used it for baccalaureate services at our high school. Very appropriate for you 18 days celebration. What a novel idea for this occasion!!

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Here's what my parents came up with for my sister's graduation - I've always loved it! It could be adapted for an 18 year old's birthday.

Remember that you’re taking the most important parts of high school with you - knowledge and friendship. Also take along those four things we taught you: “Please” - respect others; “Thank you” - be grateful for every experience; “I’m sorry” - ask forgiveness; “I love you” - share your goodness.

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The best words of wisdom I got when I was 18, were from the book " oh the places you'll go" by Dr. Suess.. Its a fabulous book about transition and life in general. You may just find some inpsiring words if you look it up... or just a great graduation gift along the way..
Good luck.

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"In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists" Eric Hoffer

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Wow - so many to choose from! I like, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

If you don't touch any lives on your climb up the ladder, then what was it all for?

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WOW! Lots of wonderful posts below. I think I would add the following advice... Now is the time when the choices you make really do make a big difference. I wish someone would have prepared me for that sooner! It seemed like HS was so sheltered compared to that first year of college!

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You could stress how important it is to remember what you are grateful for everyday and how setting just five minutes aside a day to think about that is a good life habit.

I just got the book "1325 Buddhist Ways to be Happy" and it is full of great one liners that help keep you centered.

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Dr. Seuss actually has a lot of great quotes and words of wisdom. Plus they're fun to read! You can google them and find a ton. One of my favorites:

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

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This is a great idea. My mom did the same kind of thing for me. (Unfortunately we just moved and my own collection is in a box!) But what I remember most is that these women told me stories... stories of themselves, stories of what they remembered most about me, and pieces of sage advice.

One story/ advice that I remember most was called the Cross Room.

The Cross Room

The young man was at the end of his rope.

Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said.

"I have too heavy a cross to bear."

The Lord replied,

"My son, if you can't bear it's weight,

just place your cross inside this room.

Then open another door and pick any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief.

"Thank you, Lord,"

he sighed, and did as he was told.

As he looked around the room he saw many different crosses;

some so large the tops were not visible.

Then he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.

"I'd like that one, Lord,"

he whispered. And the Lord replied,

"My son, that's the cross you brought in."

By: Author Unknown
.

She added that, in her own experience, that while we all have crosses to bear, we also have family, friends, community, religion, etc... to help us along the way.

Good luck with your contribution to your 18 year old!

J.

*Another thought... I love the song by Rod Stewart "Forever Young" it is full of nice thoughts/sage advice as well!

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Here are some quotes from well known people that I like to use in graduation cards. Maybe one of these will tickle your creative juices and combine with your own thoughts to make a personal message.

Congratulations! Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own.
And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
—Dr. Seuss, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.
—Arie Pencovici

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
—Eleanor Roosevelt

Change the World
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
—Nelson Mandela

Follow Your Heart and Intuition
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
—Steve Jobs

Make Your Own Path
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Work Hard and Take Risks
You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing, but what you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.
—Alan Alda

Take a Big Step
Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.
—David Lloyd George

Be Your Best
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
—Judy Garland

Become a Person of Value
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.
—Albert Einstein

If Opportunity Doesn't Knock...
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
—Milton Berle

Do Something Remarkable
Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.
—Wendy Wasserstein

Explore. Dream. Discover.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
—Mark Twain

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Why don't you get a copy of Kahlil Gibran's book and find something in there. He has a section in there about leaving your parents as well as parents letting go of your children. It is very beautiful. I am sure it is in the library. Here is a site with some qotes:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/kahlil_gibran...

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I've got a few. Hopefully these might help. Affirmations always make things seem a bit smoother.

1. Can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket.
2. Engage brain before engaging mouth. (Famous quote courtesy of my father. LOL)
3. Can't see the path of success if you're wearing sunglasses.
4. Appreciate what you HAVE rather than what you don't. There is always someone worse off than you.

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I've only read a few so not sure if this was said but it is something I just wrote to my daughter. If there was one thing I could do over it would be to take better notice of those around me and try to make someone's day just a little better. We all work hard to try and achieve our goals and dreams but very few look to their neighbor and say what can I do to make her/his day just a little bit better. I honestly believe the only way to achieve happiness is by giving happiness to another who needs it more.

Good luck!

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I wish I had gone to University when I was 18, or taken just a year off then gone to University. I waited until I was 30, and not only was it harder, but I was very impressionable in my 20s and not going to college kept me immature, and I did a lot of painful things that later make me sad. I also wish I'd been able to listen to advice better. However, it's so common in our culture for 18 year olds to not listen to others, and to feel they know everything, and we're told that we should do what we want and what's right for us, I don't know how you could get this across if he doesn't already listen to adults.... It is a nice idea that she's doing for him.

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Here it is some more:
It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.

I have quite few like this. Let me know if you need more.

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For me, the most applicable thing that has transcended from teens into adulthood, and still now, is the proverb: "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." To not use your words lightly, but think before you speak them, will teach us not only self restraint and patience, but will bless others along the way. Our tongue is a very powerful tool, and can damage or bless depending on how we use it!

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My grandfather told me never to say (or write down) anything that I wouldn't want repeated in a court of law.