Mary Schmich
Mary Schmich
Mary Theresa Schmichis an American journalist who has been a columnist for the Chicago Tribune from 1992, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. She wrote the comic strip Brenda Starr for the last 28 of its 60 years and she wrote the 1997 column, immediately famous, that is usually called "Wear Sunscreen", with the often quoted "Do one thing every day that scares you", frequently misattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth29 November 1953
CountryUnited States of America
I couldn't have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mother's death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness I feel for strangers on walkers. The deeper love I have for my siblings and friends. The desire to play the mandolin. The gift of a visitation.
TV happens. And once it's happened, it's gone. When it's gone, you move on, no tears, no tantrums, no videotape
Books are like blankets, the mere sight of them around the house provides warmth and comfort. They are like mirrors, too, reflecting places I've been, phases I've been through, people I've loved or thought I did.
The cell phone has transformed public places into giant phone-a-thons in which callers exist within narcissistic cocoons of private conversations. Like faxes, computer modems and other modern gadgets that have clogged out lives with phony urgency, cell phones represent the 20th Century's escalation of imaginary need. We didn't need cell phones until we had them. Clearly, cell phones cause not only a breakdown of courtesy, but the atrophy of basic skills.
Do one thing every day that scares you. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
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.
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.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They are your link to the past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
The Hunger Games' isn't for everybody. But neither is 'Anna Karenina.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Do not read beauty magazines. They only make you feel ugly.
The soul-sucking activity of TV-watching feels better when it is done with other souls.
One thing you might want to learn before you attend the world's largest ukulele lesson is how to say ukulele.