Congratulations Gina!

Big Franks’ daughter graduated from high school today. Big Frank usually doesn’t do a lot of personal (well, at any rate overtly personal) stuff on his blog, but today is different. This is for Gina. Her graduation is a transition from youth to the bridge leading to adulthood. She’s heading off to university and then the big wide world. She is in many ways much better prepared for this next step than Big Frank was at that age. We don’t need to go into all of Big Frank's youthful inadequacies, rather Big Frank would like to celebrate Gina’s successes. She has her heart in the right place, has devoted her time to the right activities, did the academic work and got the good grades (much better than her dad), excelled in her extracurriculars, made lots of wise choices, learned from her mistakes, and made herself and her dad very very proud.

Big Frank’s wishes for Gina (with apologies to Polonius):
Keep your excitement in discovery; it’s a never-ending road that leads to destinations that you never imagined, but that will continue to reward. Remember the joy that being connected to lots of people brings; build on that knowledge and extend your connections to others – it’s one of the few ways that you can increase your happiness. Remember that instant gratification is soon followed by the search for the next; take gratification rather in the pursuit, and acknowledge that the attainment is not the end, rather it is the engagement that matters most. Use your intuition to guide you in the large matters of life: listen to your inner self; you rationalize at your own peril. Use your mind to demonstrate your knowledge and your sanity; use your intuitive insights in the major decisions you will face. Understand that boredom is not something to run away from, not something to cover with TV blather, or false stimulants. There will be times in which you will need to wallow through mind-numbing chores, empty spaces, gaps in activities: wallow – don’t evade. Pay attention to language – if you can’t say it, if you can’t explain it, if you don’t know the exact words then you don’t know it. Expand your vocabulary, avoid clichés, know what you speak of, and think before you speak. Pay back is for loans not for mistreatment: the best form of revenge is to not be like that. Those that have harmed you or mistreated should not be given space or time in your life – change the channel. Keep your capacity for daily, hourly engagement with life. You choose who you are with, what you do, and what fills your mind and heart. Choose wisely and treasure them. Hold fast to your empathy, but be guided in your actions by self-interest, in the true sense of the word, for what is not good for you cannot be good for others. Your success in life is measured by how you feel right now. Acknowledge the joy that accompanies you: it's always here.