Courage

Failure is not something to be ashamed of, it's something to be powered by. Failure is the highest octane fuel your life can run on. You gotta learn to make failure your fuel.

If I could go back and tell my younger self one thing it would be this: Abby, you were never Little Red Riding Hood. You were always the wolf.

Take a step that will lead you toward the realization of your dream, and then take another, and another, and another.

Imagine the possibilities when women are not held back. Your generation is unraveling deeply entrenched laws, principles and misguided values that have held women back for far too long and therefore, have held us all back — the human race.

Don't let anyone tell you that you have to follow a certain path. Especially don't let fear tell you that.

We are not born with a certain amount of resilience. It is a muscle, and that means we can build it.

We are more vulnerable than we ever thought, but we are stronger than we ever imagined.

You'll find your way. I did, and have more or less lived to tell the tale, and I sincerely doubt I was half as clever or talented or prepared as you are today.

Don't be afraid of fear. Throw caution to the winds, look fear straight-away in its ugly face, and barge forward. And when you get past it, turn around and give it a good swift kick in the ass.

The trick is to listen to your instinct, grab the opportunity when it presents itself, and then give it your all. Like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever. They both pass and a new day arrives.

Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, but leave a trail.

I was born in Iran. At the age of six, my family was forced to flee because of the Iranian Revolution. Today I stand in front of you giving the commencement speech at one of the top universities in America. I am the American dream.