Master Thomas,

It is with great pride that I write you this letter on the occasion of your graduation from high school with high honors. You have absorbed so much knowledge and guidance from your mom and I, your teachers, and your coaches. You have taken it to heart and performed with excellence. Now it’s time to level up!

I would like to offer some suggestions to help you on the journey through this next stage of your life. The most important stage… so far. 🙂

Find your people
You will be entering a large university and will be exposed to many different people, cultures, beliefs, and perspectives. Embrace the chance to learn about as much as you can from them. The people you connect with in college will shape your experience there. Be curious, seek answers to your questions, and explore the collegiate world. Find the people that resonate with you, that have different opinions and experiences. Get involved with clubs and intramural sports. Find mentors. The connections you make in college will serve you later in life in ways you can’t foresee now.

Explore
College is the opportunity to expand your horizons beyond what you already know. Thanks to your mom, you’ve already been able to travel a fair bit and for the next four years, Oregon State will be your home away from home. Seek out interesting and challenging classes. You will have an entire university at your command, with the chance to learn so much about so many different subjects, take advantage of that. Take courses that pique your curiosity and that you look forward to going to. These are the types of courses that will help define your future.

You may not yet know what direction you want your career to take, and that is okay. I only had a general idea when I entered college, and it took me a long time to get my degree because there were so many things I was interested in. I took classes in Computer Science, Philosophy, Calligraphy, Physiology, Asian Culture, Spanish, Japanese, Animation, and Anthropology before deciding to get a Fine Arts degree. There are so many options it can be challenging to decide which direction to focus on, so listen to your heart as you contemplate your path.

Discipline
You have already learned good study habits, and you may be challenged to maintain them in college. There will be a lot of stuff going on, so many things you may want to do rather than studying, and you will need to maintain focus and discipline in your routine to ensure you don’t get behind. My first semester at USC was a near disaster because high school had been so easy for me that I wasn’t prepared for the rigors of academia. Frankly, I felt free to do whatever I wanted and lost sight of the reason I was at college. It was only in hindsight that I realized the opportunities I had not taken advantage of, and to this day I wonder how my life course would have changed had I applied myself better from the start. That said, my life turned out pretty good.

The only constant is change
People change – change majors, change towns, change careers – often several times in their lives, so don’t feel like your choices now limit your future path. You can do anything you want, it’s just a matter of applying yourself and doing the necessary work. While your decisions in college won’t dictate your life path, they can accelerate your journey.

Take some risks along the way, and don’t be afraid to fail.

Above all – work hard, play hard, be safe, and have fun!

Love,
Dad