When delivering her commencement speech at the Yankee Stadium, the Grammy Award-winning musician also encourages the new graduates to 'learn to live alongside cringe.'
- May 19, 2022
AceShowbiz - Taylor Swift is in celebration of being a doctor. Having received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from New York University, the "All Too Well" hitmaker shared some "life hacks" for new graduates in an aspirational commencement speech.
The 32-year-old beauty accepted the honor at the Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, May 18. "Hi, I'm Taylor. Last time I was in a stadium this size, I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard," she began her speech. "I am 90% sure I am here because I have a song called '22.' And let me just say, I am elated to be with you here today as we celebrate and graduate New York University's Class of '22."
"I never got to have the normal college experience, per se," she added. "As a kid, I always thought I would go away to college, imagining the posters I'd hang on the wall of my freshmen dorm. I even set the ending of my music video for my song 'Love Story' at my fantasy imaginary college, where I meet a male model reading a book on the grass and with one single glance, we realize we had been in love in our past lives. Which is exactly what you guys all experienced at some point in the last four years, right?"
"Today, you leave New York University and then go out into the world, searching what's next. And so will I," the Grammy winner continued. She went on to leave some "life hacks" for the graduates, saying, "Life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once. Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release."
Taylor further shared, "Secondly, learn to live alongside cringe. No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime. Even the term 'cringe' might someday be deemed 'cringe.' " The girlfriend of Joe Alwyn added, "I promise you, you're probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious."
After reflecting on her past challenges, mistakes and comebacks, Taylor told the crowd, "Scary news is, you're on your own now. Cool news is, you're on your own now." She then stated, "I leave you with this: We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars, and our dreams. You will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about it on the internet."
"Anyway, hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it," Taylor emphasized, before adding, "I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you. We're doing this together. So let's just keep dancing like we're… The class of 22."
