Slowly but surely, I find myself becoming a commencement speech junkie. Perhaps it is because we all look for inspiration and affirmation in our lives. Anna Quindlen is one of the most talented columnists of our generation (in my humble opinion). I came across this speech by chance when I was trying to chase down the Lennon quote for my previous post (never underestimate the power of serendipity…). You can click on a transcript of her Villanova Commencement Speech here.
To get a sense of the flavor of her speech, I have an excerpt below:
"Don’t ever forget what a friend once wrote Senator Paul Tsongas when
the senator decided not to run for reelection because he’d been
diagnosed with cancer: “No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had
spent more time in the office.” Don’t ever forget the words my father
sent me on a postcard last year: “If you win the rat race, you’re still
a rat.” Or what John Lennon wrote before he was gunned down in the
driveway of the Dakota: “Life is what happens while you are busy making
other plans.”
You walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one
else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same
degree; there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for
a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of
your life."