Advice to myself on graduation day

I graduated from Siloam Springs High School in 1975. Our graduation ceremony was held in the then brand new Glenn Black stadium on Jefferson Street and was over in about two hours, much different from today's seemingly all-day affairs held at the University of Arkansas. I was excitedly looking forward to attending Hendrix College in the fall and eager to be on my own.

While I have few regrets about how my life has turned out so far, I sometimes wonder if given the chance; what advice I would give my younger self? The most obvious nugget of wisdom would be to be more outgoing and less shy about meeting people. Social skills were not my strong suit early on. I tended to dwell on what I perceived as negatives: my appearance, height, skin complexion, etc., rather than emphasize the positives. Advice to young self: Lighten up, be yourself and don't care what others may think of you!

I would have told myself to be smarter in selecting course work. Scheduling a lot of difficult courses in the same term impressed no one and resulted in long hours of studying. This severely dampened my social life as well. Advice to young self: Work smarter, not harder.

Speaking of studying, I wish I had learned how to study effectively. Staring at a textbook for hours with no comprehension is not really studying. I also found it difficult to ask for help. Students much smarter than I surrounded me but asking them for help would have been admitting I wasn't as smart. Advice to young self: Know when to ask for help, and ask often.

I wish I had been nicer to my freshman roommate. I was very intolerant of what I considered to be "bad" behavior. Yes, growing marijuana plants in our dorm room was against the rules, but that doesn't justify my killing his plants with my contact lens solution. He did have a great stereo system and he introduced me to the band Fleetwood Mac. Advice to young self: Not everyone shares your value system, keep an open mind and realize that people can be different and still be "good."

Stay away from the yellow gravy. Hendrix had a great cafeteria! Wednesdays were fried chicken with mashed potatoes and what we called "yellow gravy." That stuff was so good but looking back was most likely just fat and salt! We could go back for seconds and I blame the yellow gravy and dessert bar for the 20 pounds I put on that first year. Advice to young self: Watch your diet. Too much soda, pizza and fatty foods aren't healthy at any age.

I hope today's graduates cherish their academic accomplishments. I encourage everyone to attend college. The experiences, good and bad, will build character and confidence. Just remember to prepare for the unexpected and don't let setbacks keep you from doing what makes you happy.

And, definitely, lighten up!

-- Devin Houston is the president/CEO of Houston Enzymes. Send comments or questions to [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 05/23/2018