Commencement Speakers Remind Grads It's OK To Take Their Time

There will be good and bad times, but it's worth living through it all.
Musician and actor Harry Connick Jr. spoke at Loyola University New Orleans.
Musician and actor Harry Connick Jr. spoke at Loyola University New Orleans.
YouTube

This year's commencement speakers spoke to audiences full of people who are used to instant gratification -- people who came of age in a hyperconnected time, with new social media platforms always around to distract them.

So it was only appropriate that many speakers made a point of reminding college graduates that they shouldn't rush things. It's fine to take time to figure out what they want to do, who they want to be, and to savor every moment -- both the good and the bad.

Comedian Mo Rocca told graduates time is not of the essence:

"Many people will tell you – as they told me – that time is of the essence. Many people will tell you ruefully that youth is wasted in on the young. Many people will warn you that in an ever more competitive economy the clock is ticking."

"Well, many people are wrong. You’ve got time."

George Wendt, who played Norm Peterson on the TV show "Cheers," said grads shouldn't worry about finding their career path immediately.

"Today, I’m not speaking to you about the rest of your lives. You guys will be fine. If, like me, you are a late bloomer ... give yourself permission to figure out who you really are, and what you really want. Get any sort of job, save up to go to Europe, or Africa ... just somewhere really far away, and for a little longer than you should. Eventually, it’ll come to you. It’s sort of like growing up. Most importantly, and I mean this sincerely, have fun!”

Musician Harry Connick Jr. similarly said it's exciting if grads aren't sure what they're doing next.

“Many of you probably came to Loyola thinking you’d be perfectly clear on that by the time you graduated. I actually think it’s great that some of you are still undecided. I think it’s exciting. Some of the best careers I know are people that change direction multiple times in their lives.”

Some plans won't work out, and that's OK, said filmmaker Oliver Stone.

“No matter how dark it gets early on, don’t get too down on yourself. You may have hidden talents, skills, passions; you just don’t recognize them yet.”

Actor Hank Azaria gave advice at Tufts University using voices from "The Simpsons."
Actor Hank Azaria gave advice at Tufts University using voices from "The Simpsons."
YouTube

Author John Green warned grads that they will have to deal with a lot of boring conversations once they settle into their careers and adulthood. But there's a bright side to it, he said.

“All of it, actually — from the electricity bills to the job where your coworkers call themselves teammates even though this isn’t football, for God’s sake — all these so-called horrors of adulthood emerge from living in a world where you are inextricably connected to other people to whom you must learn to listen. And that turns out to be great news. And if you can remember that conversations about grass length and the weather are really conversations about how we are going to get through, and how we are going to get through together, they become not just bearable but almost kind of transcendent.”

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor reminded the audience at the University of Rhode Island to embrace different kinds of moments along the way.

"The 'ah-ha' moment is the first time you gained an insight about yourself or the world around you. The 'ah-ha' are the ones that stay with you entire life, the moment you realize things around you are not as they once seemed."

"The uh-oh memories," she said, are the memories "where you ask yourself ‘What have I done now?’"

And there will definitely be "uh-oh" moments, Oprah Winfrey told graduates, reminding them that those mistakes are not the end of the world.

“Every stumble is not a fall, and every fall does not mean failure. Being human means you will make mistakes. And you will make mistakes, because failure is God’s way of moving you in another direction.”

But grads shouldn't forget there are also happy moments along the way, and that they'll figure out who they are when those good times mix with hard times, said Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg.

"There are so many moments of joy ahead of you. That trip you always wanted to take. A first kiss with someone you really like. The day you get a job doing something you truly believe in. Beating Stanford. (Go Bears!) All of these things will happen to you. Enjoy each and every one.

I hope that you live your life — each precious day of it — with joy and meaning. I hope that you walk without pain — and that you are grateful for each step.

And when the challenges come, I hope you remember that anchored deep within you is the ability to learn and grow. You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up, draw on it when you need it. In that process you will figure out who you really are — and you just might become the very best version of yourself."

But grads will have to live through all of it, because you can't fast-forward time, actor Hank Azaria, speaking as Comic Book Guy from "The Simpsons," declared in a proverb.

"Life is like the ‘Star Wars’ movies: Some of it is great, some of it sucks, but you have no choice but to sit through all of it."

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