More from Ronan Farrow

Don't ever feel boxed into a single career or pursuit. Remain curious. Explore every axis, on every front, in the battle to make a difference.

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Ronan Farrow

Dominican University of California Commencement 2012, 2012

12:47

Video starts at 12:47 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Farrow offered this counsel to graduates who were uncertain about their next steps, illustrating it with a story about his sister Quincy who, at age five, announced she wanted to be 'a doctor, a mermaid, a ballerina, and a man.' He noted she still had some work to do on a few of those things. But the humor carried a serious point: Farrow argued that diversity of interests and pursuits is a strength, not a weakness. He urged graduates to fight the impulse toward premature specialization, warning that there are 'plenty of years for us to be stuck in our ways, to lose our elasticity, to grow soft and a little jaded.' His philosophy — shaped by his own boundary-crossing career spanning law, diplomacy, journalism, and human rights activism — was to hold off that calcification as long as possible and remain curious across every domain.

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