Trust yourself. Get good advice, but know that your instincts can lead you in a good direction.

 

You have talents and abilities that can help you succeed.

 

You have the ability to create a good life for yourself and to find opportunities that will be satisfying to you. You don't have to wait for everyone else to set things up perfectly for you to succeed.

 

Your dream is not just in reaching the goal. The dream is in the work it takes to make it come true. This is important because it may not come true exactly the way you hoped it would. But when you find enrichment in what you did to get there, you know that you gained something valuable, no matter whether you reached your hoped-for destination or not.

 

Look into your heart to find your own passions. Don't just do something because you think it will look good to someone else.

 

Spend time doing things you love even if there's no tangible reward.

 

Help other people figure out what makes them tick and give them opportunities to pursue their passions along with you.

 

Create opportunities for others to have amazing experiences.

 

Figure out how to please authority figures and yourself at the same time.

 

Your opinions and ideas matter even if they are different from others.

 

You have a right to say what you think. Saying it politely and respectfully is a plus, but you don't have to sit down and be quiet just because others disagree.

 

Your existence on this Earth is not a mistake.

 

Your narrative about your own self-worth doesn't have to include other people's opinions.

 

Be honest with other people about how what they do makes you feel. They may not understand how they're affecting you. Don't assume that they want to hurt your feelings or make you feel bad.

 

Be gentle with other people. They are trying to figure out life, just like you.

 

Realize that life is collaborative. Don't always be thinking about how you can beat other people and come out on top.

 

Just because you made somebody angry or upset doesn't mean that you did something wrong or even that anybody did something wrong. That may just need to be what happened in order for people to get their feelings out and heal.

 

There will always be things you need to heal from, but life is beautiful anyway.

 

The point is for us to all grow together. As you help other people rise, reach out and let them help you rise, too. We make progress as a group.

 

You are not defined by any label of any sort, including the label of where you go to college.

 

Try hard not to label other people with labels, too. It is really, really important to open the book and read past the cover. Everyone's story deserves to be read thoroughly.

 

Don't make people feel bad about things that they have no control over just because you disagree or those things make you feel uncomfortable.

 

Don't decide that what somebody else does is wrong just because it makes you feel uncomfortable.

 

Stand up for your own thoughts and feelings. Free speech applies to you, too. But when you speak, try to invite dialogue and be interested in other people's speech as well as yours.

 

Other people are interesting! Make efforts to find out about them.

 

Other people have a right to walk in the beauty of this world. Help them make that happen.

 

You don't need to have the same material things that everyone else has to have a life that is as beautiful and fulfilling as theirs.

 

Step into the future with excitement and eagerness. The blue seas of opportunity are all around you.

 

Say "yes" to a new energizing opportunity even if it is scary.

 

Trust that there are many great landing places for you because you will make the most of every opportunity once you get there. You don't have to find the perfect place in order to be happy.

 

Have faith in yourself even if other people seem to be doubting your abilities. You don't need to make their doubts into your own.

 

Surprisingly often, people are just trying to help, so give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

Don't give in to nihilism, fear, and doubt. Even if those things threaten to overwhelm you, know that they too will pass and be balanced out by hope, joy, and opportunity.

 

Don't shove your feelings under the rug. Bring them out and talk them through so that you can heal and have hope.

​

Learn to love your emotions. It can feel like they are standing in our way, but difficult emotions like fear, anger, and shame can be messages from parts of ourselves that need help. Work lovingly with yourself and others to resolve them. Embrace them as part of a rich, full human life.

 

Trust that other people love you even if it doesn't always feel like love.

 

Don't look at messes you make and think, "It's bad that I exist." If you do feel that way, look for reasons that it's good to exist. Try hard to find them if you have to. Even if it's hard to find them, that doesn't mean they're not big and important.

 

Know that small, positive things you do you can have a big impact. Trust the ripple effect. Goodness is its own reward even if nobody seems to have noticed what you did.

 

Remember to encourage other people's plans. Everybody's plan deserves encouragement even if it's not your plan or the plan you would prefer.

 

People sometimes say that they're doing fine even when they're not, so trust your instincts if it seems like somebody needs a pep talk. Give them one anyway even if they say everything is going great.

 

You are important, so try to set yourself up not just to succeed materially, but also to be happy and mentally healthy.

 

Find a way to move through the world that you love. Work hard if you must to find this!

 

Believe that there is a place here for you to feel loved and safe and protected, even if that place is sometimes just in your own heart.

 

Be your own refuge from The Storm.

 

Remember that most people are not psychic. It's not their fault that they don't know exactly what you want them to say. Help them to help you by telling them what you need. If the help they're giving you isn't helping, tell them why not and help them adjust so they can achieve their goal of assisting you on your journey.

 

Think about defining goals broadly as experiences rather than specifics. "I want to go to a college where I can be close to nature" is much less stressful than "I need to get into Dartmouth so that I can go skiing on the Skiway the day after finals."

 

Have faith in the resilience of the human spirit. In the 50s, people feared total nuclear destruction, in the 60s there were riots in the streets, but now here you are, reading this on your computer or cell phone, probably with a full stomach, to boot. Civilizations rise and fall, but human beings find a way to persevere. Have faith that there will be a future that is worth participating in. Do everything you can to make it great for yourself and others.

​

A mistake does not tarnish you forever. If you learn from it but live through it, a year later it will seem but a small bump on the road of life.

 

Don't let the adults convince you that life is scary and that you should be afraid. Being prepared for challenges doesn't mean you have to be afraid of them.

 

Express who you are without fear. Be diplomatic if appropriate.

 

Believe that there are beautiful things inside you and that the world will be a better place when you bring them out.

 

Believe that there are college admissions officers out - not to mention teachers, bosses, and other powerful authority figures - who will love who you are.

 

Believe that your path towards the future is solid and that you are making progress towards it.

 

Be encouraged by the way the world is working for your pleasure. Bees are pollinating crops all over the world so that you can have beautiful and nutritious food on your table.

 

Believe that many things are working for your benefit far beyond what you can understand or perceive now. Admissions officers at colleges are sharpening their pencils, ready to pay attention to what you have to tell them. They don't know you yet, but they want to.

 

Believe that the world has good things picked out for you. You don't know whether the toy truck under the Christmas tree will be red or blue this year, but something good is going to be there on Christmas morning. You just have to unwrap it. Life has many gifts for you to unwrap.

 

Believe that your faith and love can counter other people's heartache.

 

Don't be afraid to push people gently in the direction that you think they should go. Their negativity doesn't have to make you more that way.

 

Encourage others with love.

 

Believe that you, too, are special.

 

Believe that there is someone out there looking out for you. Probably more than one.

 

Believe that someone wants to hear what you have to say. And someone else really needs to hear it.

 

Believe that you, too, can be wise. Wisdom doesn't just reside in holy, perfect people. No one has to be holy to be wise.

 

Believe that the world is a better place than you think it is.

 

Be careful of sentences that start with "The world is [fill in the blank]” and then end there. That's probably overly simplistic, especially if you're in an unhappy place. Things will get better.

 

Look for the beauty in the next person you meet.

 

Try hard to truly understand the soul of the next person you meet. It's a good challenge.

 

Think about how you can improve without making yourself less happy or more stressed.

 

Try to make other people as happy as you are, or more happy if you think that would be good for them.

 

Believe that good things really could be true. Sometimes we're afraid to believe something that good really could happen to us, but the universe is far, far good-er than you can imagine.

 

Don't be afraid to believe.

 

Don't be shy about saying that you believe in goodness.

 

The trend toward negativity is not a torrent we need to be swept away by.

 

Believe in your heart that love can change you and others for the better.

​

Your circumstances, the people around you, and you yourself may someday be very different. The present is not forever. Life is full of endless, evolving creative potential.