Baz Luhrmann is such a thoughtful guy. He shared the “Sunscreen Song” just in time for my 1999 high-school graduation.
As someone read it aloud from the maroon and white decorated podium, I remember thinking, “wow, pay attention, this is really important and really good advice…what am I wearing to the party tonight? Will my crush be there…?”
When you’re eighteen, with literally your entire adult future in front of you, it’s impossible to appreciate how quickly life can go by, and immediate-gratification is much more important than long-term planning and foresight. (At least, for this eighteen year-old…)
Another eighteen years flew by before I stumbled across this “song” again…
You know how you glorify some things from your youth; whether it was a house, movie, or vacation spot, and when you revisit it as an adult — it’s a let-down? The “Sunscreen Song” is the opposite of that. This is something I remember thinking of highly as a kid, and now with an extra-eighteen years’ worth of life-experience and wisdom, I appreciate it so much more.
There are so many pearls of wisdom here, but we feel you on the sunscreen Baz. We really, really do.
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 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 are 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.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths:
Prices will rise
Politicians will philander
You too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young
Prices were reasonable
Politicians were noble
and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse,
but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair,
or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but
be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off
painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.