What you need to know before you graduate.....



1.  It isn't a bad idea to learn how to budget, figure out how to manage a checking account, how to correctly use a credit/debit card, and how to use a check register. 

2.  Something that might be handy in the future, when you are a starving college student, is how to cook some meals.  Psst...ramen noodles don't count.  You don't have to know how to make a creme brulee, but knowing the basics of a kitchen will be a life skill.  

3.  Find something you love to do - it may be playing tennis, or soccer, or the piano, or sewing.  Whatever it is, you will always have that to fall back on when the day is going downhill.  Maybe you can't figure out that biology question, but you know that you can play Bach like nobody's business.  

4.  Appreciate your family dynamics.  Soon, everything is going to change - if it hasn't started changing already.  This might be the only time all of your family is under one roof before you all leave to start your own families or pursue different vocations.  Your family is an incredible gift, so don't loose the opportunity to interact with everyone because it isn't "cool."  

5.  You can have tons and tons of acquaintances  but when the day ends, you are going to want to have some really close good friends who know you and can help you get to Heaven.  Hint: siblings make good friends.  You may loose a friendship, but a sister (or brother) is a sibling forever.

6.  NEVER be ashamed of your faith.   Not only should it be who you are, but it should affect every aspect of your life.  Also, a hint that goes hand in hand with this is that the Catholic Church offers incredible opportunities to grow in grace called the Sacraments.  Best ones to frequent: Holy Communion and Confession.  Regularly.

7.  Don't underestimate the beautiful gift of sexuality.  Despite what the culture say, it's still a big deal.  God has something to say about the subject, and so does the Church.  For more on that, look into John Paul II's Theology of the Body - Christopher West and Jason Everett have done a great job looking at it piece by piece.

8.  Turn off your cellphone.  Life will go on if you detach yourself from the phone and look up at the people around you.  Never let your technological friendships trump your actual friendships. 



9.  Utilize the greatest resource that God has blessed you with - your parents or guardians.  They have lived longer than you and know what you are going through...they were kids once too.   They have a lot of knowledge, and they want to help you.  Let them and unlock the knowledge that they can't wait to share with you.

10.  Don't waver.  Peer pressure can crush you, and sometimes it will feel like you just don't fit in.  But people will not like you because they didn't like Christ.  Ultimately there is only one opinion that matters - God's.  That is who you should be thinking about when you make each decision.

Anything to add?  Let me know in the comments!

God bless you all and guide you this Lent,

Chloe M.