Well, graduation is finally here. After three years (and 150 articles) of working for student newspapers (and interning for real ones), I am done.
I guess it is only fitting to say, as Literature Editor, that a chapter is closing in my life. And in some ways, that makes me sad. But in other ways, I am very excited to see what will be happening when I turn the page.
And now, on to the requisite, clich?? advice I want to leave my readers with.
You may be a big, cool grown-up, but it's pretty sad if you cannot even follow the lessons we learned in children's books. Don't call people names or hurt their feelings. Don't steal. Don't lie. Don't cheat. Treat others how you want to be treated. Don't hit girls. And no, it's not because we are the weaker sex. It's because we'll flatten you.
Don't judge a book by its cover. Some of the best people I met in Madison were people who I thought at first glance either needed an exorcism, my spare change or both.
Unless you are a Hollywood or Washington Big Name, nobody gives a crap about your life story. Don't waste your time rambling on about yourself, in any form, because we will either throw the book away or walk away from you. And I don't care if your mother stuck you in the corner too many times as a kid, you can NOT use that as an excuse to be an asshole when you are an adult.
Lastly, I want to share a story a stranger in a bar told me over beers one night. Years ago, he had been sitting in a tavern in Mississippi when a man came in who had written a book that had not done well with the publishers. Rather than quit, this man was selling them out of his trunk, driving from town to town.
My new friend said he felt bad for the poor guy, who was obviously down on his luck. He wanted to be a writer, but was facing opposition everywhere.
Turns out, he was John Grisham.
The book eventually became a bestseller. At the time, Grisham just recognized the need for a little perserverance and determination.
Never let other people tell you what you can or cannot do. Harrison Ford was kicked out of drama school, Grisham couldn't get his book marketed. In the beginning, no matter who you are, the road can be rough. Stick it out, and prove them all wrong.
Okay, that's the end of my version of the same advice every columnist on the planet imparts in their last column. Good luck, everyone, and God bless ... and if you see a book with my name on it-buy it!
