Everybody's Free - Lee Perry & Quindon Tarver



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

never understand the power and the beauty of your youth until they've

faded. But trust me, in twenty years, you will 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 that know that worrying is

as affective 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 blindsides you at 4 PM on

some idle Tuesday.



Do one thing every day that scares you.



Sing.



Don't be reckless with other peoples' 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 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 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 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.

Whatever 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 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 your best link to your past and the people most likely to

stick with you in the future.



Understand that friends come and go.

But a precious few, who should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, for as 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 inalible truths: prices will rise, politicians will

philander, you too will get old and when you do, you'll fanaticise

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'll have a wealthy spouse but

you'll never know when either one will run out.



Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're forty, it

will look eighty-five.



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 for more than it's worth.



But trust me on the sunscreen.