“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
"When you laugh, everyone laughs with you. Cry, and cry alone. So you best put a grin on that face right now!" No matter the circumstance or tragedy, those were my grandma's words of 'comfort'. The youngest of 17 children and mother to 13 more, she endured the hungry stomachs and freezing nights now foreign to most Americans. Complaining, however, interfered with the day's work; a happy face and a cheerful tune were the only options. I want to tackle life wearing Grandma's perpetual smile. I will always appreciate a good mullet, stupid T-shirts, and handlebar moustaches. Friendly cashiers, a heads-up penny, and padiddles should be acknowledged. HBS has taught me to use clichés and analogies liberally – simple declarative sentences are worse than C-SPAN reruns. 'Over-animated' is a compliment. Bad bosses and car wrecks and cancers will happen. Tough times are a fact of life. However, I hope that I greet them all at the front door with a glass of wine and a hearty laugh. That alone will limit their impact. PLEASE!!! Label me 'insane', 'mad', and 'crazy'. I know that my hero – my Grandma – is up there smiling with me…and that means everything is going just fine.

— Ryan Kauppila