Coombs: Hey, Class of 2017, get over yourself (and other good advice)

Katie Coombs | Reno Gazette-Journal

Congratulations to all of you as you finish your high school career and prepare for the next step in your life. Hopefully, you are stepping -- either stepping out the door to go work and find a place of your own or going on to some type of higher education so that you can feed yourself and your family someday.

The generation before you has relied heavily on their parents to take care of them, and many of them still live at home at 25 or 30 years old. No matter how you were raised, you need to accept the fact that Mom and Dad won’t be there to fund your every meal.

This has been a tricky time to grow up. Since you were about 8 years old, a little company called Apple began producing phones that put the internet in your hands and completely changed the way you communicate with your friends and even your parents. You need to know that if you really want to succeed in life, you are going to have to learn to communicate looking people in the eye. You can’t text an employer your answers in the middle of an interview and you can’t dance with your partner over the phone.

I suggest you take every class you can and even read books on communication to help you overcome what this technology has done to you.

The whole time you have been on this planet, you have been handed trophies and ribbons for every sport you participated in. We have not helped you at all by doing this. You will not get awards ever again without earning them the hard way, and this may seem unfair to you when you look at your dresser that is right now covered in bobble-head trophies.

Those trophies were handed to you just because your parents signed you up. The rest of your life, you will have to achieve certain goals and criteria to be awarded. Like it or not, that’s the way it is and you would do your own future children lots of good if you work to eliminate this trophy practice.

You have seen things on the internet that were way too mature for your eyes and try not to let this scar your future relationships. Whether you are male or female, you have to treat people with respect in order to get that third or second date. Don’t be afraid to hold a door open for a woman, young men. If she gets offended, she just might not be the right one for you. Chivalry is an important part of finding the right partner and don’t let our current society talk you out of it. Your table manners really matter. Practice them right now if you haven’t before and learn how to set a table and when to use a salad fork. There will always be something very attractive about well-mannered people.

You have been unfairly judged by test scores more than any generation before you. Your success will be directly correlated to how hard you work and well you treat the people you work with. Yes, you will need to read or write, but don’t think that your Map Testing scores from 6th grade are going to ever play a role in your future. They aren’t. You will now be placed according to your common sense, work ethic, and overall personality instead of some number on paper. The faster you figure this out the more likely you are to succeed.

Although adults have told you how amazing you are your entire life, the faster you accept that you are just like everyone else, the better things will go for you. You can prevent tremendous amounts of future anxiety and social blunders if you treat everyone equally and also don’t expect the world to bow down to your amazing self. You are just a person with strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. Nobody owes you anything and you do not deserve a certain lifestyle or car or house. You will have to work hard for those things no matter how amazing you think you are.

If your overbearing parents try to step in and tell your future employers or college professors how to treat you, do everyone a favor and say no the first time it comes up. Your parents may have unfortunately been such good friends with you for so long that they can’t stand to see you suffer. It’s OK if you suffer a little bit and it’s OK to tell your parents that you are an adult and you don’t need their intervention. The faster you become independent from them, the better you will feel about yourself. You should still call your parents (not text) and say hello and I love you from time to time. They worked hard to get you this far.

Finally, to those really smart graduates who didn’t enjoy high school because they weren’t in the “cool” crowd, I have excellent news for you. Those people that thought they were better than you and even made you feel small are about to start the journey to their 10-year high school reunion. When they arrive, they are going to look a little weathered and you are going to look sharp.

You “nerds” as they called you, will be the future doctors, lawyers, scientists and accountants who will make this world go around. The “proud” crowd will be working for you and high school was the time they peaked in life. You don’t want to peak at 18. Shoot for 40 or even 50! Your hard work and studying will pay off in a way that will have made all those awkward years of high school well worth it. Plus, you are the ones who gave the graduation speeches and ran off with all of the scholarship money.

Good luck to all of you. You have a little bit to overcome from the things that existed when you were born, but it can be done. I’m counting on you as there are too many baby boomers to take care of and we are going to need your help.

Katie Coombs is the host of the radio show “Uncommon Sense with Katie Coombs.” You can reach her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UncommonSenseKC/.