Act III is everything. No matter the strength of the foundation, the assorted catastrophes of the Second Act, if we don't have Act III, we're really in trouble. Will the heroine pull it out in the end, or does she falter?
speech graduation resilience
Colson Whitehead
Connecticut College Commencement 2017, 2017
It's hard to live up to your potential when you don't like what you do.
speech graduation passion
Steven Levitan
University of Wisconsin-Madison Commencement, 2017, 2017
Keep chasing those moments where you discover something new about your voice. Don't ever let that end.
speech graduation self discovery
Octavia Spencer
Kent State University Commencement 2017, 2017
The real danger is all that smoke that's been blown up your graduation gowns about how freaking smart you are. Well, you are that smart, but don't believe the hype.
speech graduation humility
Matt Damon
MIT Commencement 2016, 2016
Today is not the day you switch from receive to transmit. Once you do that, your education is over. And your education should never be over.
speech graduation education
Matt Damon
MIT Commencement 2016, 2016
Your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.
speech graduation resilience
Michelle Obama
City College of New York Commencement 2016, 2016
When you hear someone longing for the 'good old days,' take it with a grain of salt. The 'good old days' weren't that great.
speech graduation wisdom
Barack Obama
Rutgers University Commencement 2016, 2016
Gear yourself for the long haul. Success, however small, however incomplete, success is still success. Better is good. It may not be perfect, it may not be great, but it's good. That's how progress happens.
speech graduation perseverance
Barack Obama
Rutgers University Commencement 2016, 2016
If you are lucky, you will never lose the sensation of terror that precedes discovery, nor the delight that follows.
speech graduation courage
Rita Dove
University of Virginia Commencement 2016, 2016
You are about to enter the most uncertain and thrilling period of your lives. The stories you are about to live are the ones you will be telling your children and grandchildren and therapists.
speech graduation courage
Lin-Manuel Miranda
University of Pennsylvania Commencement 2016, 2016
I learned that unlikely events — the things we say could never happen to us — happen all the time, because there are so many possible unlikely events that a few of them will happen.
speech graduation wisdom
Kenneth Kosik
UC Santa Barbara Humanities and Fine Arts Commencement 2016, 2016
Don't be so focused in your plans that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. The most exciting parts of your life aren't even on your radar screen.
speech graduation growth
Elizabeth Warren
Suffolk University Commencement 2016, 2016