<p>Everyone here is so experienced! What advice can we share on what not to say on the big day?</p>
<p>I’ll start. (true story): “The girl walking next to you was so pretty I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”</p>
<p>“You owe us for life!”</p>
<p>“I better call the health insurance company right now so you can start paying for your COBRA!”</p>
<p>Quit crying (they need to cry… their life as they’ve known it for four years is ending)</p>
<p>I loved watching (fill in the blank names of friends) getting their awards. Too bad I didn’t hear your name.</p>
<p>Say goodbye to the best years of your life.</p>
<p>What’s it going to be like for you going out into the world? We’ve cushioned you so much, you’ll probably fail.</p>
<p>The speaker at my college graduation based a good part of her speech around this one, imploring us not to believe it. Don’t say:</p>
<p>The college years are the best years of your life!</p>
<p>LOL, Crossposted with ellebud!</p>
<p>roshke: Great and sensitive minds think alike.</p>
<p>Now when are you getting a job?</p>
<p>“Can’t believe you actually made it!” (even when it’s true)</p>
<p>“I’m glad you graduated law school. You’ve never in your life finished anything you started.”</p>
<p>I went on my own dime, then she offered to send my younger brother who had never thought about it. (He didn’t get accepted but she doesn’t know that. She thinks he changed his mind.)</p>
<p>I agree with a few others. </p>
<p>Don’t say - “Your college years were the best years of your life!” (and variations of that saying)</p>
<p>Statements like this are downright irritating to both of my kids who worked ridiculously hard in college (CS majors at colleges with rigorous programs plus on-campus jobs plus internships).</p>
<p>“Wow, you qualified for honors, why didn’t you write the thesis to get it?”</p>
<p>An actual conversation w/ D. She, graduating this month, has a very high gpa from a top school. She was also offered a job at the end of her internship last summer. She said to me, “Mom, I know you are not going to be happy at graduation when I get no recognition. But I want to enjoy my final year and not be stuck working all the time.” </p>
<p>I won’t be happy, but I understood her point. I just hope she does not regret her choice someday. But I am glad she has had a great senior yr.</p>
<p>I’m sure my mom will think of something to say , she usually does. My son will smile and just let it roll off his back.</p>
<p>My MIL to my son when she heard he made Phi Beta Kappa, “Really? I’m so surprised!”</p>
<p>My son’s reply: “That’s ok, Grandma. I know you don’t think I have much going on upstairs.” ;)</p>
<p>That robe makes you look fat.</p>
<p>From my grandmother, “Why would a pretty girl like you want to get a degree in something like that?” (geophysics :))</p>
<p>From HS – “There were so many graduation awards given out, how come you didn’t manage to win even one?” </p>
<p>From a law school graduation – where the grad from a top 10 school got 2-3 awards which is outstanding in professional school but one of those awards was the result of a 3-way tie – “So you got the contracts awards but so did 2 other students…” Way to be proud.</p>
<p>H’s Mom to D: “I always hoped you’d turn out pretty” :eek:</p>
<p>“Are you going to miss college?”</p>
<p>“Don’t forget we have to pack all of your stuff today (or tomorrow…).”</p>
<p>“Oh look, there’s a business associate – you don’t mind if I ask him to join our private family dinner so I can get some business done do you?”</p>
<p>Said by my mother to me on my college graduation day.</p>
<p>Wow, these are some amazing zingers! Well, at least I won’t tell S we hoped he’d be pretty! We should probably all be OK and enjoy the time with him. Will post if any of us say anything particularly memorably awful-----hope not! My folks only went to ONE of our 7 college graduations and NONE of our graduate/professional school graduations. They pretty much didn’t say anything (tho my dad did admit he kept waiting for a note from my law school that I had flunked out because I never wrote about studying, only the fun stuff – who wants to write about studying???)</p>