Keillor ended his speech by identifying the one thing that truly marks independence from one's parents: narrative control. Parents can shape a child's life, provide for them, even constrain them — but they cannot control how the child tells the story. 'You were there during your childhood,' he told the graduates. 'You saw us and the clumsy things we did and the terrible dumb things we said — you saw what happened — and now it's your story to tell and we can't tell you what to say.' The catch, he added, is that the story must be told with truthfulness, humor, and forgiveness — three qualities that distinguish genuine independence from mere rebellion.