Public Radio Personality, Producer of the Show “This American Life”
Commencement Address at Goucher College, 2012
Ira Glass, the host and producer of radio program "This American Life," delivered an insightful and provocating address at Goucher College in 2012. Glass's speech celebrated the art of storytelling and the importance of embracing failure and persistence in creative pursuits, highlighting the transformative potential of storytelling and the value of tenacity in the pursuit of artistic excellence. He encouraged graduates to find their unique voices and to be unafraid of making mistakes to approach their creative endeavors with passion and resilience.
10 top life lessons by Ira Glass
- Embrace Feeling Lost: It’s normal to feel lost after college when you’re not sure where to go or what to do next.
- Persevere Through Ambiguity: Even with ambition, you may struggle and flounder in your 20s as you figure out your path.
- Practice and Patience: Building skills and expertise may take time and dedication, and you have to be willing to put in the effort.
- Evolve and Adapt: Be open to changing your plans and goals as you learn and grow.
- Deal with Family Expectations: Your family may have different expectations for your future, but their support can evolve as they catch up to your choices.
- Be Kind in Your Relationships: In your interactions with family and others, avoid being unkind or glib as they adjust to your choices.
- Embrace Realism: Life after college may not be romantic or ideal, and you may question your choices and beliefs.
- Create Ideas and Work: Generating creative ideas and making meaningful work is a task in itself that requires effort and dedication.
- Accept Uncertainty: Life is not always clear, and you may not know where your choices will lead, but that’s okay.
- Believe in Yourself: Have confidence in your abilities and trust that when the opportunity comes to make a significant impact, you will know what to do.
Best quotes of Ira Glass‘s speech
"""You cannot tell yourself where things would lead."" ""You leave this school as well-armed for battle as anyone is."""" """Video of Ira Glass‘s Commencement speech at Goucher College
“I cannot stress enough that the answer to a lot of your life’s questions is often in someone else’s face. Try putting your iPhones down every once in a while and look at people’s faces.”
Commencement speech transcript
“I’m still opposed on principle to the idea of any commencement speech. I believe that it is a doomed form, cloying and impossible. Commencement speakers give stock advice which is then promptly ignored.
“The central mission of the commencement speech is in itself ridiculous: to inspire at a moment which needs no inspiration. Look at yourselves at this moment. Something incredible is happening to you right now. The whole world is opening to you. You guys have been in school your entire lives. You have completed something difficult that took persistence and probably you questioned yourselves again and again. And now you’re off to face the world and do everything you’ve been dreaming. What can words add that that except delay the moment you get your diploma? ….
“My third connection to Goucher I really was not going to talk about at all, and this week my wife and some friends insisted that you graduates would find it relevant, and that is I lost my virginity in one of the dorms here. [Wild laughter and applause] Not recently. I was 20.”