“Now, go and change the world y’all.” – Brad Paisley
There, up on the stage, stood Brad Paisley. Sporting his signature cowboy hat, he walked up to the microphone to address Barrington High School’s class of 2017.
It was an unforgettable moment to say the least, for students, faculty, and family members alike. Paisley, amidst admitting his jealousy of Barrington’s prestigious video department, congratulated the students on an amazing job on the video they entered in his “Last Time for Everything” contest. Everyone was so excited that Barrington won the contest and hearing Paisley’s praises made it even cooler! “I am thrilled to be here today to play a couple songs for you before you go out and make the world a better place”, Paisley starts. “I think when I write songs, I frequently think back to this point of time in my life, when it seemed like getting turned down by the girl I asked to a dance was the end of the world. It’s not”. A communal hum of laughter filled the auditorium.
Being in the audience that night was such a special feeling. It was amazing to see such a successful star speak so humbly to a group of 700 some graduating high schoolers. Paisley offered a lot of insightful advice to the teens, and helped remind them that this is just the beginning. As he was talking, he shared a quote with everyone. “Today is the first page of your 365 page book. Write a good one”, and he continues by saying some pages will be more important than others and will highlight the great parts of life, and that all those good moments will make up for the low points. Paisley brought more entertainment to the crowd that night than most were expecting, and even managed to shrug off a few heckling comments directed his way. He continued his performance with his song “Today”, whose lyrics remind us that no matter what happens tomorrow, we always have today and these moments happening now.
He finished off his speech by praising the students. “You guys look like you’ve got one of the most essential parts of life already down, based on the video you made, and that’s that you don’t take yourself too seriously.”. He continues, “My favorite people in the world, that I’ve ever met, are people that are not afraid to do things to make people laugh”. It was so nice to hear someone with as big a name as Brad Paisley, say that there’s no need to go through life too seriously, that there’s always time to laugh and have fun. Having Brad Paisley show up to Barrington was so rewarding for the students, faculty, and families attending, and he left all of us with everything we need to know on how to start living our best life. Today!