Name: 'Never be ashamed of trying': Taylor Swift tells Class of 2022 in commencement speech l GMA
Uploaded: 2024-08-13T06:54:44.000Z
Duration: 4 min 33 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Gerund

I'd like to thank NYU for making me, technically, on paper, at least, a doctor.

Not the type of doctor you would want around in case of an emergency.

To-infinitive

Unless your specific emergency was that you desperately needed to hear a song with a catchy hook and an intensely cathartic bridge section. I'm 90% sure the main reason I'm here is because I have a song called 22.

And let me just say, I am elated to be here with you today as we celebrate and graduate New York University's Class of 2022. Someone read stories to you and taught you to dream and offered up some moral code of right and wrong for you to try and live by.

In that case, I hope you'll remember them today. Words are supposed to be my thing, but I will never be able to find the words to thank my mom and dad, my brother Austin, for the sacrifices they made every day so I could go from singing in coffeehouses to standing up here with you all today because no words would ever be enough. To all the incredible parents, family members, mentors, teachers, allies, friends, and loved ones here today who have supported these students in their pursuit of educational enrichment, let me say to you now, welcome to New York.

It's been waiting for you. You and I both learned that you don't always get all the things in the bag that you selected from the menu in the delivery surface that is life.

And as I would like to say to you wholeheartedly, you should be very proud of what you've done with it. Today, you leave New York University and then go out into the world searching what's next.

Please bear in mind that I in no way feel qualified to tell you what to do.

You've worked and struggled and sacrificed and studied and dreamed your way here today. I will, however, give you some life hacks I wish I knew when I was starting out my dreams of a career and navigating life, love, pressure, choices, shame, hope, and friendship.

The first of which is life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once. Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release.

You can't carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex.

Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go. I'd like to say I'm a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things.

Now you leave the structure and framework of school and chart your own path.

Every choice you make leads to the next choice, which leads to the next, and I know it's hard to know which path to take. And as long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, and breathe out.

And I am a doctor now, so I know how breathing works. I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you.

 We're doing this together, so let's just keep dancing like we're the class of 22.