Graduation Goodies
May 7, 2014
The commencement of Commencement season is well underway and I’m sure, as every year, there will be memorable speeches given. Perhaps some not-so-memorable ones too – do you recall who spoke at your graduations? Some speeches are so well-received that they end up published as books for gifting as inspiration to generations beyond. If you’re seeking a little gift for the Grad this year, here are a few books based on speeches and a few that just seem timely with their wisdom.
Congratulations, by the Way – Some Thoughts on Kindness by George Saunders – Presented at Syracuse University in 2013. If you’d like to read the speech in its entirety, and I recommend you do, it’s available right here on the NYTimes website. If you’d like a precious little hardbound copy with a pretty cover, then off to the bookshop you go.
Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow – Not Commencement Speech based but full of lovely, nostalgic Life advice gleaned from the pages of the treasured little books (golden) we all had/have on our bookshelves. Diane Muldrow is the Editorial Director of Golden Books in her real-life and shares her personal connection to the books here in a Huffington Post blog post.
A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen – Inspired by a speech given by Anna to a high school graduation class. An excerpt can be read here.
Wear Sunscreen – A Primer for Real Life by Mary Schmich – This was a column written almost 20 years ago by Mary Schmich in the Chicago Tribune. Though she stated in her introduction that this was merely her version of the Graduation Speech we all have inside us, it has been mistakenly attributed to Kurt Vonnegut. Filled with plenty of important guidelines like “Floss” and “Sing” (Wait a minute, … maybe my Dad wrote this!) The original can be read here. A Tenth Anniversary edition was published, a Twentieth can’t be far off.
This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life by David Foster Wallace – From a speech given by DFW in 2005 at Kenyon College. The original can be read here. Another message gone viral and particularly poignant now that Wallace is gone.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow – Speaking of poignant … (You have my permission to step out and stock up on tissues.) A speech about what matters most, given by a university professor with the knowledge his own life is ending soon. Randy Pausch titled his presentation, “Really Achieving your Childhood Dreams” and spoke about living life most fully. One for the ages. Carnegie Mellon (Pausch’s university) has video and text of the speech available here.
