For the most part, life is simple. It is just us who make things
more difficult than they need to be. This is one of many lessons I
have learned quite well during my time at this university.
In the last column of my UCLA career, I would like to leave you
all a final world about perceptions. No doubt your education here
has left you primed to tackle the world, but it will be your
outlook on life that will bring you the greatest happiness.
With all the maturity you have gained as an adult, never forget
the exuberance you had as a child. When you were kid, everything
was new, every sight was special and anything could be fun.
Innocence did not mean an absence of guilt ““ it meant an
absence of cynicism.
Never forget when a towel could become a cape and how quickly
you too could become a superhero.
Never forget the first time you went to an R-rated movie before
you turned 17, and how you were constantly looking over your
shoulder, thinking the cops were going to arrest you at any
moment.
And never forget going to Burger King and mixing all the
different types of soda together. Youth is the only time Diet Dr.
Root Orange Coca-Sprite actually tastes good.
Finding joy in any situation was what defined childhood. So many
years later, we must be reminded to look at each moment with the
utmost optimism. Far too often the day can be ruined before it has
even begun, just because of a jaded view on things. Do all you can
to find the silver lining in every cloud.
Even with these rising gas prices I am ever the optimist ““
I know that with a full tank of gas I have doubled the resale value
of my car. I am optimistic that someday my wife will be a homemaker
because I find construction work sexy. And I am eternally
optimistic that dreams really do come true.
There lies a funny paradox with dreams, though. While we are
awake, our hopes and aspirations are directed toward fulfilling
jobs, toward professions with proficient health and dental plans
and toward careers we see as defining ourselves.
But when we dream at night, we dream of a peaceful existence. We
dream of a journey through all of nature’s splendor. We dream
of a distant horizon and the sail to get there. We dream of a
journey that seems to have no hardships ““ only hopes.
And while we do not know where our travels will take us, we
always remain true to what has given us tranquility. In the waking
hours lives the journey, and in the dream lives the
destination.
My time at UCLA has been a dream come true. Thank you all for
four years of wonderful memories. Please let my last advice be to
do all you can to be the person you want to be and to bring a smile
to the faces of others.
Pfohl was a 2003-2004 Viewpoint columnist.