Every May, I wait for the call, but so far it hasn't come. What call, you ask? The call to give the commencement address at one, any, of my alma maters, of course.

Gainesville High, Gainesville State, Alabama, Troy State, it doesn't matter. I think I've finally accumulated enough wisdom to toss out some pearls to a room full of restless graduates and their beaming, relieved parents.

Just to be safe, I figured I'd better have a speech ready. After all, you never know. I brewed a pot of coffee, fed the dog, the cats and the parrot so there'd be no interruptions and set about my work.

That's when I realized I'd never actually heard a live graduation speech. There was no featured speaker at my daughter's high school graduation. She, following in her mother's footsteps, didn't attend her college graduation.

I decided a little research was in order. I started reading graduation speeches. Online, I found speeches by politicians, scientists, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, world leaders, folks from the whole gamut of backgrounds. I notice none of them styled themselves as "North Georgia mother of two and occasional columnist." Good. I can be a trailblazer.

The more I read, the more I realized I had come across a treasure trove of wisdom. Some of it was serious, some hilarious, all of it was memorable. I quickly switched tracks. Using some of my newly discovered quotes, I cobbled together what, to me, was the ultimate commencement speech, containing all the advice I wish I'd heard and taken to heart when I was 18.

Here goes:

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?'

And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." (Steve Jobs, Apple computers)

"In the spirit of keeping things in perspective, remember, it was Harvard grads, the best and the brightest, who got us into Vietnam. It was a Duke Law graduate - Richard Nixon - who obstructed justice, ignored subpoenas and was forced to resign the presidency. It was a graduate of Georgetown, Yale and Oxford, a Rhodes Scholar — Bill Clinton — who disgraced the office of the presidency, lied under oath, and taught a generation how to parse the meaning of ‘is.' Enron execs were, as the book title puts it, The Smartest Guys in the Room." (Doug Marlette, cartoonist)

"There's a false assumption out there that talent will surely be recognized. Just get good at something and the world will beat a path to your door. Don't believe it. The world is not checking in with us to see what skills we've picked up, what idea we've concocted, what dreams we carry in our hearts.

When a job opens, whether it's in the chorus line or on the assembly line, it goes to the person standing there. It goes to the eager beaver the boss sees when he looks up from his work." (Chris Matthews, journalist)

"You'll find out that nothing that comes easy is worth a dime. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face. Never." (Woody Hayes, football coach)

"Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people ... or find a different room." (Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell Computer)

"Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would become religious overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead the stars come out every night, and we watch television." (Paul Hawken, entrepreneur)

"We all ask God to do great things for this country and for the people we love, and we all ask God to go to work for this great country and for our great principles and ideals, and for the people we love in this country, and God answers back, ‘Here on earth, my work is your work.'" (John F. Kennedy, inaugural address. OK, it wasn't a commencement speech but it's a great quote and, hey, my column, my rules)

"You are not your resume. External measures won't repair you. Money won't fix you. Applause, celebrity, no number of victories will do it. The only honor that counts is that which you earn and that which you bestow. Honor yourself. "(again, Marlette)

And finally, "Whatever you do, wherever you go, always phone home. Your mother worries, you know." (Teressa Glazer, North Georgia mother of two and occasional columnist)

Godspeed, Class of 2010.

Teressa Glazer is a Gainesville businesswoman. Her column appears biweekly on Fridays. and on gainesvilletimes.com.