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.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
University of Pennsylvania Commencement 2016, 2016
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After sharing two deeply personal stories from his twenties — one about a back doctor who told him the story of Verdi to help him face emotional pain, and another about a theater producer who wanted to sensationalize his musical In The Heights — Miranda addressed the graduates directly about the uncertainty ahead. The humor of including 'therapists' alongside children and grandchildren was quintessentially Miranda, but it also carried real weight. His own stories had involved therapy, painful breakups, years of financial struggle as a substitute teacher, and the courage to say no to powerful producers. These were the experiences that ultimately shaped both his art and his identity. The quote captures Miranda's gift for making vulnerability feel exciting rather than frightening, reframing the anxiety of post-graduation uncertainty as the raw material for the most important stories of their lives.