Mary Schmich

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia.

Advice is a form of Nostalgia

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, and don't put up with people that are reckless with yours.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you__l look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can__ grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked_.You__e not as fat as you imagine. Don__ worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don__ be reckless with other people__ hearts, don__ put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don__ waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you__e ahead, sometimes you__e behind_the race is long, and in the end, it__ only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don__ feel guilty if you don__ know what you want to do with your life_the most interesting people I know didn__ know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don__. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you__l miss them when they__e gone. Maybe you__l marry, maybe you won__, maybe you__l have children,maybe you won__, maybe you__l divorce at 40, maybe you__l dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary_what ever you do, don__ congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either _ your choices are half chance, so are everybody else__. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can_don__ be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it__ the greatest instrument you__l ever own.. Dance_even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don__ follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they__l be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:Wear sunscreen.If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.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. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Good art is art that allows you to enter it from a variety of angles and to emerge with a variety of views.

The movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are when we see them.

You can map your life through your favorite movies, and no two people's maps will be the same.

Like many women my age, I am 28 years old.

A line from one of my 1997 columns - 'Do one thing every day that scares you' - is now widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, though I have yet to see any evidence that she ever said it and I don't believe she did. She said some things about fear, but not that thing.

Don't waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.

I couldn't have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mother's death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness I feel for strangers on walkers. The deeper love I have for my siblings and friends. The desire to play the mandolin. The gift of a visitation.