We somehow ended up watching a few commencement speeches last night. And, these stuck with me.
Federer, Dartmouth 2024
On tennis lessons 1.
Effortless is a myth.
It’s only a point.
Life is bigger than the court.
Seinfeld, Duke 2024
On not losing one’s sense of humor 2.
We’re proud of what we should be embarrassed by, and embarrassed by what we should be proud of.
Don’t think of having, think of becoming.
Don’t lose your humor.
Matt Damon, MIT 2015
On problem solving 3.
Turn to the problems and engage.
Keep listening.
Not every problem has a high-tech solution.
David Foster Wallace, Kenyon College 2005
On being “well adjusted” 4.
This is water.
This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t.