{"id":943,"date":"2011-04-19T12:51:49","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T19:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=943"},"modified":"2011-04-19T12:51:49","modified_gmt":"2011-04-19T19:51:49","slug":"spring-forward-day-31","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-31\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

New York
\nApril 12, 2011<\/h2>\n

Alma Mater<\/h3>\n
\"I<\/a>
I graduated from this school thirty years ago this month, back when still had hopes and dreams and a waistline and my original cardiac arterial connections.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today I passed my old Alma Mater, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, on Madison Avenue.\u00a0 I decided to step in and just look around.\u00a0 I was met by a receptionist who wanted to know what the hell I was doing there.\u00a0 \u201cI graduated from here exactly thirty years ago, \u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cReally?\u201d She replied.\u00a0 \u201cToday is graduation day, as a matter of fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked around at all the kids in their neatly pressed suits and dresses, having just returned from the stage of the Majestic Theater on Broadway where their ceremony had been held.\u00a0 I should have asked who the speaker had been.\u00a0 In April of 1981, when I graduated on the set of Deathtrap<\/em><\/strong> at the Music Box Theater, the speakers had been Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn and silent screen legend Lillian Gish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s graduates looked predictably happy, tired and excited.\u00a0 I sure hoped they were smarter than I was thirty years ago.\u00a0 I stifled the impulse to collar some of them and give them some unsolicited advice.<\/p>\n

Then I realized the person I really <\/em>wanted to give advice to was my young, stupid, callow, na\u00efve, hopeful 1981 self.\u00a0 What I really wanted was to jump into a time machine, just for five minutes, and MAKE my 21-year old self listen to some wise words from his future self.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s What I\u2019d Tell My Stupid 21-Year Old 1981 Just-Graduated From Acting School Self<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Either get out of show business right now or get a lot smarter about it immediately.<\/li>\n
  2. Come out of the damn closet already.\u00a0 There\u2019s no prize for who stays in the longest.[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Low carb, low carb, low carb, low carb, low carb.<\/li>\n
  4. Resist the impulse to take Meridia without a doctor\u2019s supervision.<\/li>\n
  5. Learn about your credit rating.\u00a0 Treat it like your first born child.<\/li>\n
  6. Credit cards are The Devil.<\/li>\n
  7. It\u2019s not too late to make friends with your own body.\u00a0 Do anything you have to to achieve this.<\/li>\n
  8. Did I mention low carb?<\/li>\n
  9. You\u2019re skinnier and better looking than you think you are.<\/li>\n
  10. Investigate the new and growing world of computer and video gaming.\u00a0 It might be a better career path than acting.<\/li>\n
  11. Like the song says, enjoy yourself, but always remember:\u00a0 it\u2019s later than you think<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"We're<\/a>
    We're very serious at Ground Zero.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \"Friends<\/a>
    Friends for thirty-two years. I'm lucky they'll still hang out with me. But then, they don't have to do it very often.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    I wonder if I would have listened?<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> But wait about three years before you start having sex.\u00a0 There\u2019s a scourge coming and it\u2019ll be a little while before they know how you can avoid it.<\/p>\n

    Average Rating: 4.9<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 242<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

    \n