(For anyone who might be interested, here are the links to my commencement speeches from 2015 and 2016. I believe in June of 2017 I, along with much of the country, was still at a loss for words):
https://www.ailantha.com/blog/my-second-commencement-speech
http://www.ailantha.com/blog/my-commencement-speech
I post my yearly commencement speech around this time of year as a benefaction to young graduates, a few words of advice that might not have been covered by the keynote speakers at their commencement ceremonies.
So, 2018 graduates, here is my commencement speech to you:
3. When you are a dinner guest always wait for your host to begin eating before you dig in. If you are the host, start eating as soon as the food is served (after you've said grace, of course) so your guests know to start eating. If you are still busy serving or must leave the table, verbally invite your guests to start eating. |
9. Consider the famous quote by some unknown sage: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." You shouldn't necessarily live by those words. Just keep them in mind. And be careful what you do say. Don't say everything you're thinking. Unless it's something kind.
15. Read a local newspaper - online is fine - and a national news source. Keep up with and care about what's going on in our nation and the world even if world events don't yet affect you. Because they will eventually.
Rainbow, Randy, "The Kim Davis Cell Block Tango," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14C3TZg6NQM