Dr. Wes: Congratulations seniors of 2007! Now that you’ve had a week to recuperate, we’ll share our advice to new graduates for summer and beyond.

Travel

Nothing is more fitting as a graduation gift – even if you give it to yourself – than travel. While you may have chances to do this as a college student, the summer following senior year is a great time to get started. Whether you can finance overseas travel or just pack up your bag, fill up the tank and drive across America, there’s a lot to see and explore with your newfound adulthood. You may have problems renting motel rooms because you’re under 21, so check ahead before you leave. It’s also best to take a friend or two, but remember to keep your heads. Getting into trouble as a juvenile is one thing. Visiting the Bojangles County Jail may be a whole different, and much more serious, experience. Part of taking a senior road trip is getting into adventures; the other part is playing smart. Keep those two things in balance. I’ll never forget when my friend Rob and I spent a couple of weeks driving to and from Washington, D.C. Now I go there all the time, but when I was 18 this seemed terribly exciting.

Avoid credit

Among the worst burdens society thrusts off on new graduates is the infamous credit card, car loan and, worst of all, payday loan. Even student loans quickly can become excessive, and they only pay dividends if you graduate and can work in a field that pays a decent wage. For the most part JUST SAY NO. Any loan you take during your first years into adulthood should be designed for one thing: getting ahead in life. If you can avoid owning a car, try to. I know this is sacrilegious in America, but cars are huge money pits for young adults, especially at $3.50 a gallon for gas. If a bike will do for the first year of college or work, give it a shot. If you have to borrow money to buy a car, get one that combines low cost, high reliability and fuel efficiency. I know this seems obvious, but that doesn’t seem to impact anyone until several $75 trips through the gas station per month and a couple of minor $750 car repair bills.

Try something different

You’re going to be caught up in a certain routine for most of your life. You will see many of the same people every day, work at the same job, go to the same places, and so on. This may sound horribly boring right now, but it is the way life is for most of us. While you’re still young, try working in a different kind of job than what you’d expect to do down the road. Get to know some people who aren’t like you. Try to balance exclusivity in romance with exploration before settling down. Very few people are with the same person at 35 that they were at 18, and if you don’t learn who you match with at this age, you set yourself up for marital problems down the road.

Fight for your goals : but move on when things obviously aren’t working

This is another of those “BALANCE” issues. One shouldn’t give up on anything (school, relationships, jobs, etc.) without trying to work things out. We are an impatient society and if anything goes wrong we have a tendency to jump to the next great thing. On the other hand, if you come to the realization that someone or something isn’t good for you, put it in your past. You’re going to wake up tomorrow and be halfway through life. Keeping bad baggage is just as bad as failing to stick to something good in life.

John: Here’s a list from a new graduate, for new graduates:

Plan, plan, plan

Perhaps the most overwhelming part of transitioning to adulthood is the incredible amount of responsibility immediately thrust on you. With so much to do, it’s easy to get caught up in emotions or impulsiveness. That’s why it is vital to make a plan for tackling college. At the beginning of the year, decide what grades you want to get in your classes and design a general game plan for studying. Create a budget that allows you to pay for your basic essentials (and maybe some recreation), without overspending. When you go to a party, know in advance how much you plan to drink and how you will get home. Setting limits on yourself now may sound restrictive, but it actually frees you from mistakes you might make without a plan.

Find your sweet spot

One of my best teachers told me that as soon you find the career you love, you never have to work again. As Dr. Wes said, you will probably find yourself pulling the same job year after year for the rest of your life, so it better be something you can tolerate. There are hundreds of courses available at college, so take a thorough look at what’s available. If you, like 60 percent of college students, find your first major isn’t what you thought, don’t be afraid to change. Read up on a variety of subjects in order to get a taste of knowledge available. With so many career options these days, you’d do well to understand your choices.

Cherish the moment

This is good advice for any age group, but college students are especially gifted with unique opportunities. At no other time will you be surrounded by so many people, with so many activities to be involved in. Don’t try and rush through those four years, as if they were just wrapping paper on the real presents of life. Savor the opportunities; and for now, don’t worry about the future. As a character in “South Park” once said, “There’s a time and a place for everything, and it’s called college.”

Correction: Dr. Wes apologizes to Julia Davidson the new Double Take author for misspelling her name as “Danielson” in the May 22 column.

Next week: A mother tries to encourage her son to be interested in school. Summer advice for getting his next school year off to a better start.

– Dr. Wes Crenshaw is a board-certified family psychologist and director of the Family Therapy Institute Midwest. John Murray is a Free State High School senior. Opinions and advice given here are not meant as a substitute for psychological evaluation or therapy services. Send your questions about adolescent issues to doubletake@ljworld.com. All correspondence is strictly confidential.