“Good friends we have had, oh, good friends we have lost along the way. In this bright future you can’t forget your past, so dry your tears I say.”

The immortal words of Bob Marley in his song “No Woman No Cry” stand as a reminder for all of us, as we move on to bigger and (hopefully) better things, to remember the past, and remember where we came from.

This is an especially important message for graduating seniors as you head out into the world of professional work in the fields you’ve all become an expert in during the last four years. As you get settled and begin to work your way through your respective corporate ladders, remember where you came from, and how you got where you are.

As every college grad going for a new job knows, it is not what you know, but who you know. As you began to apply for your first internships during the last couple of years, many of you managed to get accepted to different workplaces through connections you had made or people you knew who worked there.

There is nothing wrong with this, but remember it someday when the tables are turned. One day you will be working in the office and a student will approach you to ask for an opportunity to prove his or her ability. The student may be nervous, inexperienced, and young, but also spirited.

Sometimes you need to take a chance. Remember back to your first applications, and how you didn’t have much on your résumé. Maybe your GPA wasn’t all that high, or your only job experience was mowing lawns. But someone took a chance on you. Do the same for others.

As you move on, remember also the people who have been there for you, as Bob Marley sings, “good friends we have had, oh, good friends we have lost along the way.” You’ve had four years to form relationships, make best friends, do everything together, laugh, cry, get sick of each other, stop talking, and become best friends again by Wednesday. You can’t live with them, but you couldn’t imagine life without them.

It is so easy to take things for granted today. We take the NHIOP for granted, passing up opportunities to see senators, ambassadors, and presidential candidates because the walk from Uppers is too long. We took Davison for granted too, until we were finally off the meal plan and into apartments. Broiled chicken and Leslie’s “I’m going to start with your drink” begins to look pretty good, once you realize you have to cook and shop for yourself.

Search yourself as you leave one chapter and begin another, and think about how you want to live your life. Challenge yourself to live without regrets; not quite a YOLO point of view, but a way to live so that you won’t look back one day and realize that you really missed out on something special.

Each day, live life to its fullest, and don’t give yourself an opportunity to have to wonder about what could have been. Rather, know that you took every chance, jumped to make a “what if” a “what is,” and chased the future you wanted.

Saint Anselm College has taught you about charity, hospitality, community, citizenship, and education. Embrace these as you move away and leave our community for the last time. Know that people recognize and admire these qualities, and that they can sometimes be a more important part of landing a job than the words on your résumé.

Class of 2013, Crier is proud of you and all you have accomplished. It has truly been a pleasure, and we look forward to reporting on your activities someday soon.