Every time I feel low, when I feel something is not going right I listen to "Everybody's free to wear sunscreen".
It is the perfect set of advice one can give and somehow u take it. Sometimes words have magical power, they can change your mood and lighten you up.This is exactly what this song (or speech) does to me. I call it my tonic :) I will post the lyrics here and also a link to the video on youtube. Hope you enjoy it as much.
Everybody's free to wear sunscreen
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen
would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved
by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more
reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind;
you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they
have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos
of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility
lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re
not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be
things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,
don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re
ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end,
it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults;
if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you
want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t
know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting
40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re
gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll
have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll
dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever
you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either
– your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy
your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it,
or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll
ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your
own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel
ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll
be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your
past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious
few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography
and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the
people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you
hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you
soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians
will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll
fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians
were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you
have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when
either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time
you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those
who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it
is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting
over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…
