Life should be relevant, not random. We struggle to make sense of what happens around us and to turn experience into meaning.

We are often told that the purpose of life is to have a purpose. That purpose is usually imagined as a goal, a destination or a plan. With two granddaughters graduating from college this year, I wanted to remind them that a meaningful life begins with a grounded sense of direction, one shaped by values, curiosity and the courage to keep learning.

The true value of their college experience is not only the foundation it has laid for future careers and collaboration. More importantly, it should have taught them how to think independently, adapt, and when and how to pivot in this confusing and complicated world.

As society stumbles through an epidemic of broken promises, I encouraged them to be unhappy with the status quo, put down their phones often enough to notice the world around them and stand up to the outside impulses that ask them to conform to the thinking of others. Their lives should become more than a sequence of events. If properly motivated, their story will be one filled with adventure, meaning and joy.

Bob Simmons, Arlington Heights