So as a rule, / I try not to give anyone / unsolicited advice / unless they ask for it. // I'll go into this more later. // I guess I have been / officially solicited in this situation to impart / whatever wisdom I might have, / to tell you things that have helped me so far / in my life. // Please bear in mind that I, / in no way, / feel qualified / to tell you what to do. // You've worked / and struggled / and sacrificed / and studied / and dreamed / your way here today, / and so / you know what you're doing. // You'll do things differently than I did them / and for different reasons. // So, / I won't tell you what to do, / because no one likes that. / I will, / however, / give you some life hacks / I wish I knew / when I was starting out my dreams of a career / and navigating life, / love, / pressure, / choices, / shame, / hope, and friendship. // The first of which is, / life can be heavy, / especially / if you try to carry it all at once. // Part of growing up / and moving into new chapters of your life / is about catch and release. // What I mean by that is / knowing what things to keep / and what things to release. // You can't carry all things, / all grudges, / all updates on your ex, / all enviable promotions, / your school bully got / at the hedge fund / his uncle started. // Decide what is yours to hold / and let the rest go. // Oftentimes, / the good things in your life / are lighter anyway. // So there's more room for them. // One toxic relationship / can outweigh so many / wonderful, / simple joys. // You get to pick / what your life / has time and room for. // Be discerning. // Secondly, / learn to live / alongside / cringe. // No matter / how hard / you try to avoid being cringe, / you will / look back on your life / and cringe retrospectively. // Cringe / is unavoidable over a lifetime. // Even the term cringe / might someday be deemed / cringe. // I promise you, / you're probably doing / or wearing something right now / that you will look back on later / and find revolting / and hilarious. // You can't avoid it, / so don't try to. //