The important thing in life is to follow your passion — no matter what it is — for whatever mysterious reasons.
speech graduation passion
Ray Bradbury
Caltech Commencement 2000, 2000
Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play it more by watching it than by consulting any book, including the Holy Book. Small wonder, then, that so many play dirty, that so few win, that so many lose.
speech graduation wisdom
Joseph Brodsky
University of Michigan Commencement 1988, 1988
Try to build and treat your vocabulary the way you are to treat your checking account. Pay every attention to it and try to increase your earnings. The purpose is to enable you to articulate yourselves as fully and precisely as possible.
speech graduation education
Joseph Brodsky
University of Michigan Commencement 1988, 1988
Saying things are terrible does not automatically establish the reliability of your account. The habitual naysayer is no more to be trusted than the habitual cheerleader.
speech graduation wisdom
Meg Greenfield
Williams College Commencement 1987, 1987
Silence is the soul's invisibility. We can, of course, conceal ourselves behind lies and sophistries, but when we speak, we are present, however careful our disguise.
speech graduation authenticity
William H. Gass
Washington University Commencement 1979, 1979
To think for yourself — not narrowly, but rather as a mind — you must be able to talk to yourself: well, openly, and at length.
speech graduation wisdom
William H. Gass
Washington University Commencement 1979, 1979
The ultimate power you have over us is your ability to tell your story. If you can tell that story truthfully, with humor and with a little forgiveness, then you're on your own.
speech graduation authenticity
Garrison Keillor
Commencement Address, 0