Story: Graduation season
In June, it’s graduation season. I can find many commencement speeches video in the United States. I am listening to it to increase motivation.
I feel that graduating from university is a quite big event in the United States. Many immigrants come to the US from whole over the world. Some people are 1st generation and the parents did not go to college. It is a different situation compared with Asia. I graduate from university a long time ago. I did not feel anything. In Japan, the entrance exam is hard, but graduation is not. I even did not attend a graduation ceremony. After graduation, I moved to near the capital city.
In Tokyo, Japan, I found what I want to do, graphic design in the advertising industry. Since then, I am basically enjoying my work. Therefore, commencement speeches permeate my heart. How I was nothing at that time. If I knew what I want to do in high school…, how my life could be different. Many people may think like that.
Life does not reverse. Appreciate what I have right now, but don’t stop aimming high. Pursue what I want to be.
NYU’s 2022 Commencement Speaker Taylor Swift
©New York University
– Catch and release
– Live alongside cringe
– Choice is you’re on your own now.
Lucky students in NYU class 2022. Her commencement address occupied my YouTube page in May. I mean many media in The United States picked up. Very slow and clear pronunciation, some sentences were lyric, but I cannot say that I could understand every single word.
2022 USC Commencement: Allyson Felix Commencement Speech
©USCAthletics
Allyson Michelle Felix OLY (born November 18, 1985) is an American track and field athlete, who specialized in the 200 meters sprint from 2003 to 2013 and then gradually shifted to the 400 meters sprint later in her career. – Wikipedia
– Your voice has power and you have to use your voice even if it shakes
– Maternity protection for a female athlete
USC Athletics – Official Athletics Website
Allyson Felix: My Own Nike Pregnancy Story – The New York Times
Saysh by Allyson Felix
Abby Wambach Addresses 2022 LMU Undergraduate Commencement
©Loyola Marymount University
Mary Abigail Wambach is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women’s national soccer team from 2003 to 2015, earning her first cap in 2001. – Wikipedia
– Dig deeper, demand number
– Get aligned, stay aligned
– Live your solidarity out loud
I did not about her, but how she speaks sounds like a team leader.
Slutty Vegan’s Pinky Cole Spring 2022 Clark Atlanta Commencement Speech (Full)
©HBCU Pulse
Aisha “Pinky” Cole is an American restaurateur. She is the owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, a plant-based burger restaurant chain in Atlanta, Georgia. – Wikipedia
– I want you failure.
– Failure is not failing at all. It is finding the aspiration of the losses.
Very energetic speech. This is the weakness of Asians, I think. Reading paper with a flat voice does not excite an audience. I don’t say it’s culture, but an entrepreneur is a quite common word in the media of The United States.
Maria Shriver Commencement Remarks at the University of Michigan
©University of Michigan
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. – Wikipedia
– Fear can show up at every stage of your life no matter what you have accomplished
– Fear and uncertainty are an illusion
– See fear as a great teacher and long-time companion
It is an author and journalist’s speech. The word choice is noble. I got a core message, but this speech was difficult for me. Many Asian knows Harvard, Stanford, Yale, or Princeton, but UOM is a quite well-known institute in the United States. One of Barack Obama’s daughters is here, actually. Before that, he spoke here a decade ago. Go Blue is the second word that refers to a school or sports team.
Conclusion: Gender equality
I picked up those speeches which were delivered by high achieved women and it is not coincident. These speeches stand out. They are fighting for social justice on the front end.
In daily life, anyone does not say, I have prejudice or discriminate against females, but in society, there are many gaps between males and females. The male does not realize it. In my experience, female is relatively smarter than male, but male dominates the managing position. In 2022, it’s in the process of shifting. It won’t solve tomorrow, but surely be better a decade later.
