Congratulations, Class of 2025! You’ve survived a global pandemic, a TikTok ban scare, and the existential threat of $8 iced coffee. You’ve weathered more “unprecedented times” than a meteorologist in Atlanta predicting snow.
As you prepare to launch into adulthood, college, or that gap year you’re telling your parents is “for self-discovery,” allow me to offer 25 nuggets of wisdom to help you as you navigate what we like to not-so-fondly call “the real world.”
1. Slow Down
Adulthood is not a competitive sport. You don’t get a medal for being the busiest. Take time to breathe, nap, and stare at the ceiling contemplating your next snack. Margin isn’t just for Word docs. It is a concept you should build into your adult life from the start.
2. Enjoy the Journey
You’ve spent years waiting for “the next thing.” Spoiler: there’s always a next thing. Don’t miss the magic of now while you’re busy chasing what’s next. Your future self will thank you for taking some time to take the scenic route.
3. Laugh. A Lot.
If you’re going to laugh about it in five years, start now. Laughter is cheaper than therapy and less awkward than crying in the campus dining hall.
4. Seek Wisdom
Find a few wise, wrinkled souls and ask them how they survived dial-up Internet, the post 9/11 world, and life before whatever-it-is-we’re-living-now. Find the people who have sat where you sit now and learn from them and their mistakes.
5. Say “I Don’t Know”
It’s okay to admit you don’t have all the answers. In fact, it’s refreshing. “I don’t know” is the gateway to “Let’s find out,” and “Let’s find out” is how you solve real-world problems.
6. Friends Will Come and Go
Some friends are for a season, some for a reason, and some just for the group project. Cherish them all, even if you only remember their usernames in 10 years.
7. Question Authority
You’ve spent 18 years following rules. Now’s the time to ask, “Why?” Just maybe not while your boss is explaining the dress code. Unless he’s espousing the necessity of neckties. Those aren’t now nor have they ever been a good idea.
8. Never Stop Learning
Your diploma is not a finish line. It’s a permission slip to keep asking questions, making mistakes, and Googling how to boil an egg. You should always be learning something. When you stop learning, you stop growing.
9. Be Careful With Information
Not everything you see online is true. (Except this column, obviously.) Check your sources. “I saw it on TikTok” and “I read an article in The Times,” are not on the same level.
10. Avoid Extremes
The loudest voices are rarely the wisest. The truth is usually somewhere between “we’re all gonna die” and “everything is fine.” For whatever reason, it is natural for human beings to gravitate toward extremes. Maybe we haven’t evolved beyond that habit yet — but while the extremes may be loud, either side of an extreme is willing to sacrifice its soul to be right.
Making a difference isn’t about being right. Making the world a better place isn’t about being right. Doing any amount of good in this world is never about being right.
11. Pick Your Battles
Not every hill is worth dying on. Save your energy for the big stuff. The squeaky wheel does usually get the oil — until everyone just starts identifying it as the squeaky wheel and starts ignoring it or trying to replace it. When you pick your battles, people are more likely to listen when you say something is wrong.
12. Learn Nuance
Life is rarely black and white. Most of it is gray, with a splash of “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
13. Two Things Can Be Right at the Same Time
You can love your hometown and want to leave it. You can be nervous and excited. Something can be a good idea but also be extremely dangerous. You can be genuine and still hurt someone you love. Learn to hold space for both sides of every coin.
14. Treat Others With Dignity
Even if you disagree, remember that every person is a human being worthy of dignity. When you see people you disagree with as “less than,” you lose all credibility and a piece of your own humanity.
15. Be Confident
Confidence is magnetic. Walk into a room like you own it, and view yourself as an asset. If you view yourself this way, so will others.
16. But Don’t Be Too Sure of Yourself
Confidence is great. Overconfidence is just embarrassing. Ask for feedback, and listen to it—even if it stings.
17. Don’t Let Others Define You
While you should listen to the critiques of others, don’t let the opinion of others define you. You are beautiful the way God made you — let your light shine and don’t let what other people think dim your inner light.
18. Do The Thing You Want to Do
Dream big, start small, and don’t wait for permission. The world needs your weird, wonderful ideas. If you have something you want to do or try, don’t wait until after graduation or after you find a job or after you get married. Start small, but start now.
19. Tell People What They Mean to You
Life is too short for unspoken gratitude. Tell your friends you love them. Tell your parents thanks. Tell your dog he’s a good boy.
20. Mistakes Are How You Learn
Failure isn’t fatal. It’s just tuition for the school of life. Take it from someone who has been there — the only way to not fail is to become really good at failing first. Don’t be afraid of it. Behind every good idea, behind every entrepreneur, behind every successful person you idolize is a string of failures that didn’t make their biography.
21. People Don’t Fit in Boxes
People are more than their Instagram bios. Give them room to surprise you. Every person has a story, and it usually blows the roof off your preconceived notions about them.
22. Prioritize Life Over Work
Your job is what you do, not who you are. Don’t let your LinkedIn profile become your personality.
23. Learn Your Rhythm
Some of us are morning people. Some of us are “don’t talk to me until I’ve had coffee” people. Know thyself—and schedule accordingly.
24. Unplug and Listen
Put down your phone and look someone in the eye. You’ll be amazed what you hear when you’re not checking your notifications.
25. Learn The Value of Context
Everything and everyone has context. What happened before will help you understand what is happening today. The plot makes no sense without the backstory. Unfortunately, the schools in this country have failed to give you context and what little context you had has been robbed by social media, but context is still vital to understanding the world you live in.
Class of 2025, the world is waiting. Go out there and make it a little kinder, a little weirder, and a lot more interesting.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
