整理旧电脑,发现当年一首很是“深奥”的说唱歌曲,冬天来临纽约,Sunscreen不需要抹了,可是要继续游走世界,体验人生,“防晒霜”不可忘带。
Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)
Ladies and gentlemen of the class
of '99: 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 probed 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 can 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 blind-side you at 4 p.m.
on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who
are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes, you're ahead; sometimes,
you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with your yourself.
Remember 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't feel guilty if you don't know what to do with your life. The most
interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their
lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't know.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're
gone.
Maybe you'll marry; maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children; maybe you
won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your
75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much
or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody
else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what
other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be
nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most
likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a 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 who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but
leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California
once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will
philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do you'll fantasize that when
you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children
respected their elders. Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe
you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look
like 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it
for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.