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From getting dumped to fighting for your reproductive rights, we picked out our favorite (and one not-so favorite) speeches from this year's round of graduations.
Okay, so we understand that commencement speeches are all a blur (this writer has had two commencements, one with Christiane Amanpour and one with Big Bird) and paying attention to them is a bit hard considering poor acoustics and all the champagne being passed around. Plus, how many times can you tell a group of young people to go be brilliant without getting redundant?
That said, maybe that's why looking at these speeches from a safe distance on a Friday afternoon makes them resonate with us a little better. So whether you're looking for a bolt of inspiration, or need some college nostalgia, or have a few minutes to set aside this afternoon, here are our notable commencement speeches from this year*.
The Speech You Wish Was Yours:
Who: Neil Gaiman
Where: Philadelphia University of the Arts
Why We Picked It: If you're an artist of any kind you need to watch this. We were already a fan of Gaiman's inspirational children's books, so the bar was already set pretty high. And Gaiman delivers by succinctly and poignantly eliminating the "why's", "how's" and "where's" that plague artists. Just get down to the core of producing: Make. Good. Art. Oh, and there's this kickass cartoon of the speech.