Parting words from a former cynic
COMMENTARY
Issue date: 5/5/05 Section: Opinion/Editorial
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But I still have a graduation speech inside me waiting to get out. What better opportunity to expound on a few life lessons than in my last column at The Journal. And so here is my abbreviated graduation sermon. You'll just have to imagine the wild hand gestures.
Graduating class of 2005, I know we haven't always gotten along, but I have the opportunity to speak and I'm not one to waste such an opportunity. I toyed with the idea of behaving like a lady for this speech, which I could pull off if I wanted to, at least for a few minutes. Then I thought better of it, because neither my friends nor my critics want to see me act like a lady. I'll just be myself - obnoxious and irreverent.
I've known for a long time that being obnoxious isn't such a bad quality. I have no need to be pleasant for someone else's sake. In our newsroom, we have a quote from journalist extraordinaire Helen Thomas. It reads: "We don't have to be liked. We didn't go into this business to be liked or loved. If we did, we're making a big mistake."
This little piece of wisdom has got me through some tough moments. I think it's relevant for everyone no matter what kind of career they have chosen. If your main motivation in life is to be liked, you will no doubt go crazy. Sometimes, being disliked is a sign that you are a person worth knowing. It means you don't appease those people who get unjustly angry with you.
Look at that - my speech has already started to drift toward platitudes, like "You only have to like yourself." But what can I say - my self-adoration has worked out very well for me. If your self-esteem is inflated like mine, you don't dwell too much on what others think of you. It makes you more ambitious, which is likely to make you more successful, more happy and a lot more rich.
I'm kidding myself on that last part, of course. Most graduating seniors know that regardless of their ambition and hard work, a salary of over $25,000 a year is unlikely for the first decade of employment. We all go through periods of doubt about our chosen field when we realize that we could make twice as much money in retail.
