Some Unsolicited Advice for the New Graduates

My favorite days of the year, in no order:
-My Birthday (duh)
-Christmas (duh)
-the day the Pumpkin Spice Latte goes on sale at Starbucks (I know I should purchase from local coffee shops, and I do. They did get me through my undergraduate, after all. But a little dance party breaks out on my taste buds from that first sip of an Sbucks' PSL)
-the first day I can wear a dress without tights (I'm ALWAYS overly optimistic about the coming of summer, so this day usually leaves me even more disappointed by the late snow storm that follows it)
-the first day of school
-the last day of school

Today is 4,000 NAU students' favorite day of the year. They're walking across the stage, shaking hands with the Dean, turning their tassels, and tossing their caps. Warmest congratulations to all the new graduates. You surely deserve this day of celebration. I hope that NAU has provided you the same happy education and experience it did me. And with absolute sincerity, I hope all your dreams come true.

I'm not one to toot my own horn (that's a lie), but in the spirit of inspiring new graduates to pursue the most fulfilling life, I'm going to brag on my epic first year out of college.

The day of my college graduation, I was a full time employee at It's About Coffee, a local restaurant and coffee shop that has now downsized to a full roastery and coffeehouse on Butler Ave. Due to said downsize, I was laid off the day after I received my degree (major buzzkill), which left me jobless for the first time in my entire life with no direction whatsoever. Thankfully, my one tech writing course taught me how to format a resume, and FCP posted a job opening in the non-profit section of Craigslist.

I didn't know much about FCP at the time. Big bummer because the organization has so much to offer to the young transient college crowd. My four years would have been exponentially better had I known about First Friday ArtWalk and great art exhibitions at the Coconino Center for the Arts and concerts by these really cool folk bands and classical guitarists. Not to say my college career wasn't awesome, because it was, but FCP offers exposure to so much culture in Flagstaff. I didn't know what I was missing.

But now, I have the great fortune to know artists from all places in life. The overwhelming commonality between artists- whether visual, performing, musicians, writers, or filmmakers- is their intense drive, determination, ambition, and absolute unwavering refusal to ever give up on their dreams. This vision permeates the community in Flagstaff. Business owners (like my bosses at It's About Coffee), teachers, scientists, city-council members, doctors... the list goes on and on and on. Flagstaff is a city of extreme passion, and I am so proud to be a part of it.

It wasn't until I started working a position I never thought I'd work for an organization I never thought I'd work for that I realized my passion was idling. My dreams were sleeping. They were still in the back of my mind, but a little part of me had already given up because I thought I lacked the necessary talent to make them come true. The Flagstaff art scene showed me that I was wrong. And it inspired me to do something about those hazy dreams.

As you know, I don't toot my own horn (that's still a lie), but a month ago I submitted my application to the Creative Writing program at NAU. As a long shot. I didn't think I'd get in. I was already making other plans, in fact, when I applied. But by some miracle, or a really lax admission policy, I got in. I have no clue what I'm doing, or what I'm going to do, but I'm pretty sure it's a first step in the grand adventure of making my dreams come true.

So to all you beautiful Flagstaff artists, thank you, thank you, thank you for being my muse. To the Class of 2012, find whatever it is that inspires you to do what you love and never, ever give up on it. Your dreams will only come true if you make them.