Graduation season is upon us, which means hordes of famous (and, to the disappointment of many graduates, not-so-famous) people will trudge across auditoriums and football stadiums around the country to deliver speeches full of vaguely uplifting platitudes. Of course, plenty of these speeches will actually be quite good: witty, insightful, and genuinely inspirational.
See, for instance, Charlie Day’s recent speech at his alma mater, Merrimack College. The actor and writer — best known for his role as the erratic, emotional, illiterate Charlie Kelly on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — was of course hilarious, offering commentary on everything from the graduation robes which made everyone look like “some sort of medieval pastry chef” to the sound of his own voice, reminscent of “a ten-year-old with a smoking problem.”
But Day’s real message to the graduates comes later in the speech when he shares tales of his own post-college years and the many failures he faced before eventually finding professional and personal success. “You do not have to be fearless,” he says. “Just don’t let fear stop you.”
Wise words from a man whose favorite hobby is magnets.
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