It has been said that hindsight is 20/20 .

I think that’s true.

My philosphy in life is have no regrets, but gain wisdom from your successes as well as your mistakes. It’s all about learning from our experiences.

As a new crop of  graduates gets ready to leave the protective walls of high school and head to jobs or college, there are any number of suggestions I could offer.

“Could” is the operative word.

Among this year’s graduates is one 18-year-old who lately responds to the insights and advice I offer with an angsty, grumbly and dismissive “yeah” or “OK.”

My son, Liam, is floating in that hazy gray area between dependent and independent. He wants to enjoy all of the perks of being an adult, but not pay for any of them himself. He’s in for an awakening.

In hindsight, I wasn’t prepared to go to a university right out of high school — I was immature, extremely shy and relatively undisciplined when it came to school work. Attending a community college would have made more sense in my case.

I had a bumpy start to college, but I made it through. The work force is highly competitive, and I believe now, as I did then, that graduating from a university offers a leg up in the real world.

While I hope that my experience might benefit my son and help guide his path, I realize that he is determined to do things his own way.

And that’s OK. Part of my responsibility as a parent is to allow my son to create his own successes and make his own mistakes.

It’s time for me to start rolling up the safety net.

Frankly, that’s not so easy for me to do, but I’m growing more comfortable with the idea with each dismissive “yeah” and “OK” that comes out of his mouth.

To my son — and the rest of this year’s high school graduates — congratulations on completing this part of your journey, and fair winds and following seas as you begin the next chapter.