Tassel-turning season has come to Elon University as the Class of 2012 prepares to bid farewell to their beloved alma mater. With every graduation ceremony comes a memorable Commencement speech, where a variety of speakers will wax philosophy about this annual culmination of the college experience.

But for all the invaluable words of wisdom that Commencement speakers offer, there are several realities that graduates are not clearly presented with on graduation day that are vital to their future success and well-being.

To the Elon University Class of 2012, here are 12 things that you won’t be hearing while sporting a cap and gown on May 19.

1. You still have no clue what you want to do with your life.

Most people go to college to get a better job or because they are told their lives will be mediocre if they don’t. The reality is you may have just spent four years studying a subject and still have no idea where your path will take you. The road to success is littered with holes and speed traps so don’t forget to look where you’re going.

2. Public speaking is a must-have skill. 

Many graduates leave Elon lacking experience in public speaking and presentation before going out to apply for jobs. But the ability to speak in public extends beyond business. If you don’t believe us, pay attention to President Leo Lambert’s address during the ceremony. He didn’t become the president of our university by not knowing how to speak.

3. It’s not only what you know, but who you know.

Your diploma is not enough to guarantee you a job. Yes, sporting a degree from Elon will mean a lot in the coming years, but the real world cares less about your degree than it does about who can attest for your skills.

4. The Freshman 15 can still haunt you after you graduate.

Sure, you might not be in college anymore, but scarfing down chips and late night pizzas outside of college can have the same effects on your self-esteem and waistline as those wraps from Varsity did.

5. Failure is the best stepping stone to success.

Failure is a far better teacher than success. Look at some of the most famous and influential people in our society and repeat instances of failure and disappointment will be a common theme. Anything worth having in life will be a struggle to reach, but the struggle itself is most gratifying about the result.

6. If you think life ends when college ends, think again.

If you think your years spent hanging out in the Greek courts or out on the intramural fields were the best you’ll ever have, you are abandoning any hope of the rest of your life having any meaning or purpose. Whether you believe it or not, life does continue outside of Elon’s bricked pathways.

7. The rules of college “hookup” culture don’t apply in the real world. 

Drinking cheap beer at Sandy’s and making out with random people may have made for some wild stories from freshman year, but you’d be wise to leave those days in the past. Dates will replace pre-games and dinner parties will replace keg parties. Accept this idea or else you'll be stuck in college forever.

8. Fountain diving at Elon gets you a fine; fountain diving in the real world gets you fined and arrested.

We think this one is pretty self-explanatory. It may be on your bucket list of things to do before leaving Elon, but it makes for some awkward phone calls if you get caught doing it anywhere else.

9. “There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.”

Cable TV show host Conan O’Brien shared these words of wisdom last year to Dartmouth College’s graduating class. He went on to stress that, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.” Your plans for your future are subject to change, whether you are willing to submit to it. Accept this and go where life beckons you.

10. Success is a matter of opinion, not fact.

There’s no concrete definition of what makes a person successful. Having a wall full of diplomas and a six-figure salary doesn’t necessarily make you successful. Everyone’s standard of success differs, and at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide if what you’ve accomplished satisfies your own goals and desires.

11. The time you “wasted” with your friends was anything but. 

When you catch yourself reminiscing about your college years, the best memories you’ll have will be the moments you spent with your friends. You’ll remember their faces, their spirit and their laughs more clearly than anything else from your college days.

12. Many of you will realize you aren’t ready to leave college.

When you are the most comfortable and least ready, these four fantastic years come to an abrupt end. There was always someone to show you how to adjust to college, but nobody teaches you how to leave it behind. Your life will not be as sheltered as it has been under Elon’s majestic oak trees, under which you are now sitting as you wait for graduation to begin.

To the Class of 2012: Remember that it’s nobody’s job to help you succeed. It may have been somebody’s job when you were in college to assist you, but the goal of college is to help you become self-sufficient, and is one you must undertake alone.

Congratulations and best wishes to the Elon University Class of 2012.

Inspired by The Wall Street Journal’s “10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You.”