Quotes from Mary Schmich

'The Hunger Games' isn't for everybody. But neither is 'Anna Karenina.'

Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York.

TV happens. And once it's happened, it's gone. When it's gone, you move on, no tears, no tantrums, no videotape.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Don't waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.

For some Chicago expats, food is the medicine that blunts the pain of separation.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. The older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either of them might run out.

Be nice to your siblings. They are your link to the past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Unusual commencement advice: 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.

Like many women my age, I am 28 years old.

Don't waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.

You can map your life through your favorite movies, and no two people's maps will be the same.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 'ninety-seven: 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.

Like many women my age, I am 28 years old.

Here's a thing about the death of your mother, or anyone else you love: You can't anticipate how you'll feel afterward. People will tell you a few may be close to right, none exactly right.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either of them might run out.

You can figure out who you were by which movies you loved when.

For some Chicago expats, food is the medicine that blunts the pain of separation.

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 don't believe she did. She said some things about fear, but not that thing.

Do not read beauty magazines. They only make you feel ugly.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. The older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.