TU Tuesday - Commencement Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyDo5vFD2R8   --Denzel Washingtons speech

http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmTuesdaysWithMorrie16.asp  -Tuesdays with Morrie

The commencement speech I chose was Denzel Washingtons speech to the University of Pennsylvania. Denzel shared with the graduates about becoming an actor and how he failed many times. He told them, "nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks." I believe this is true. If you want something or want to do something you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed and take risks in life. Denzel refers to a famous quote by Nelson Mandela where he says, "There is no passion to be found playing small and settling for a life thats less than the one your capable of living." I think every human being is capable of doing something spectacular in their life. We cant settle for a small job that makes minimum wage. We need to work hard and do something we are passionate about. In his speech he says that failing is a good thing. He believes it leads to great things. "Thomas Edison conducted 1000 failed experiments. On his 1001 it was the light bulb. Every failed experiment is a step closer to success." No matter how much we fail in life, we will get better at things and will learn from our mistakes to be smarter than we once were before. Denzel said, "If you dont fail, your not even trying." I agree, because everyone is bad at something. We dont know unless we try. Denzel created this theory that when we go to sleep there are ghosts that stand by us and they are our talent. Its up to us, whether or not we use that talent. It can either be used or be put to the graveyard and go unused. Denzel asks the graduates, "How many ghosts are going to be around you?" I think that was a good part of his speech because hes telling the graduates that everyone has talent, and its up to them to use it. People should use all of their talent in their lifetime and not waste it. I thought it was a great message. He then said, "To get somehting you never had you have to do something you never did." Life is full of mysteries and there is so much to do in life. If we take the  time to try new things, we can develop great skills and talents at the things we do in life. Morrie Shwartz once said,  "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." This connects to what Denzel was saying in his speech. We need to find what gives us purpose and meaning and life and then chase our dreams. We need to take risks and take chances, because you never know what will happen. For all you know, on your 1001 try you could create something astonishing.