“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” said Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where-” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“-so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
– Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
A big congratulations to all of you who graduated this past June! I hope everyone had a safe and joyous graduation and grad nite – I know I did! Looking back, it really doesn’t feel as if 13 years of schooling have gone by, but they have. We’re the last class born in the 1900’s; the last class to watch Kim Possible, The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody, Hanna Montana, That’s So Raven, Teen Titans, Dexter, and SpongeBob; the last class to know what spending Friday afternoons at Blockbuster Video felt like, or how to print out a Google Map and directions. We’re the last class to know that blowing into a Gameboy, NES, or N64 cartridge does the trick, and what it’s like to use a Moto Razor (or any flip/slide phone for that matter). But on a more serious note, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. How exiting! Think of all the weekends you’ll spend at the beach, all the road trips you still need to take, the late nights you’ll enjoy with your friends, all the bonfires yet to be lit, and all the times you’ll have to explain to the fire fighters that “it was an accident”. Oh, the Places You’ll Go (Dr. Seuss) and the things you’ll see!
I recently went down to Disneyland and on the way there I remembered that when I was a kid, when adults asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d answer, “I’m going to be a Cast Member at Disneyland!” Unfortunately, life forces us to grow up and realize that working at a park can only get you so far. However, despite this, the dream was rekindled. It was on my way to Disneyland that I realized that we are the captains of our destination. We have the right to live out our dreams, however strange or illogical they may seem. We should only have to listen to ourselves, and take the advice of others as just that, advice, and not a direction in which to head towards. Life shouldn’t be about finding what job will make you the biggest bucks, life should be fun and fulfilling.
If you are still being asked where you’re going next or what career/major you are going into, it’s completely okay not to know. A lot of people go through life not really knowing what they’re going to be or how to move on, yet in the end, they still make it through fine because they put their best foot forward and gave it their all. They started nowhere and ended up in the best possible somewhere. With this in mind, go out there! Live out your crazy dreams! Put your best foot forward! Give it your all! You’ll eventually end up somewhere.
Luis Dominguez
Student Social Media Intern
1st Nor Cal Credit Union