Quotes by Mary Schmich

“Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with those who are reckless with yours.”

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”

“You can map your life through your favorite movies, and no two peoples maps will be the same.”

“Dont waste time on jealousy. Sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behind.”

“The soul-sucking activity of TV-watching feels better when it is done with other souls.”

“Good art is art that allows you to enter it from a variety of angles and to emerge with a variety of views.”

“Consider the lowly word if. If can launch any accusation into the public arena in the guise of fact. If can poison a life as surely as cyanide. Grease a sentence with if and you can skid from speculation to impeachment in the time it takes to say, Tricky Dick.”

“Barbie is just a doll.”

“The movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are when we see them.”

“We are the movies and the movies are us”

“There never were in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity”

“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.”

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 97:Wear sunscreen.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 theyve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, youll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.Dont worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; 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.

Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, and dont put up with people that are reckless with yours.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia.

Advice is a form of Nostalgia

I couldnt have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mothers death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness I feel for strangers on walkers. The deeper love I have for my siblings and friends. The desire to play the mandolin. The gift of a visitation.

Dont waste time on jealousy. Sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behind.

A line from one of my 1997 columns - Do one thing every day that scares you - is now widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, though I have yet to see any evidence that she ever said it and I dont believe she did. She said some things about fear, but not that thing.