The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
June Issue #116
Article Provided By: Gaylene Smith
Ah, springtime. Birds are singing, bees
are buzzing, flowers are blooming. Strathmore smells of ode de` manure and
celebrities are spewing advice to multitudes of graduates; and not all of it is
crap. Graduation season is upon us. Famous actors, athletes and politicians are
donning mortarboards and robes and stepping up to the podium to pontificate a
plethora of encouraging advice.
And as I am not a famous actor, athlete,
nor politician I shall simple regurgitate some of the best quotes from previous
commencement addresses for you enjoyment, perhaps even for your encouragement,
because let’s face it – we could all use some free advice now and again.
I shall start with one of my favourites. In
2009, Ellen DeGeneres offered the graduates of Tulane University this bit of
direction:
The
definition of success changes. Success it to live your life with integrity and
not give in to peer pressure to be something you’re not. Follow your passion. Stay
true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path; unless you’re in the woods
and you’re lost and you see a path, then by all means, you should follow that.
Will Ferrell is really not who I would
picture as someone to approach when needing serious life advice but his address
to the graduating class of the University of Southern California this year especially
rang true to me.
No
matter how cliché it may sound, you will never truly be successful until you
learn to give beyond yourself. Empathy and kindness are the true signs of
emotional intelligence.
Seriously, this advice should be given,
not to graduates, but to the freshman class. Imagine how the world would change
if our definition of personal success was based on helping others and
contributing to each other instead of on corporate titles and salaries.
And finally, my all-time, hands down,
numero uno, favourite piece of advice for graduates comes from someone who’s
fame is all the more sweeter for her failures. An author that received
rejection letters from 12 different publishing companies before finally having
her manuscript accepted.
"It is impossible to live without failing at something,
unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in
which case, you fail by default."
These words of advice were spoken to the
Harvard University Graduating Class – by J.K. Rolling. An author whose words
and imagination brought to life one of modern day’s literary heroes, Harry
Potter – The Boy Who Lived.
Now if I did happen to one day be famous
enough to be asked to deliver the commencement address to a group of graduates,
I might just borrow words from Ms. Rolling because as Dumbledore so eloquently
told young Potter “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are,
far more than our abilities."
You are a consequence of your choices in life. It doesn’t matter if
you hold a degree from Harvard or a broom at McDonalds. It doesn’t matter if
you make minimum wage or six figures. It doesn’t matter if you give the
commencements speech or listen to it. It doesn’t matter how capable or
talented you are, it’s what you do that makes a difference in the world.
We are who we choose to become. Go forth and choose to be kind, compassionate
and true to yourself.
Choose to be a success however you define it in this moment of your
life. Be like Harry – Be a Person Who Lived.
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