mud, kindness, & cringe

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merry memorial day to you!

if it’s not already clear, i’m a sucker for nostalgia.

so tis the season of indulging myself in a youtube rabbit hole of commencement speeches.

i know i’m not alone in this pleasure because one of the most watched youtube videos is steve jobs’ commencement address to stanford in 2005 with 42M views.

thanks to youtube, we can now listen to graduation speeches later in life when we can appreciate the wisdom more. not at a time where some of us were dying of heat exhaustion or still learning to do our own laundry.

so this week, i’m taking you down commencement lane.

yes i know almost all speeches share the same themes - dream big, work hard, make mistakes, & be kind.

but some people say it way better.

so here are 10 thought provoking, less commonly quoted lines of my favorite commencement addresses.

[#8 should be no surprise given my prior email]

1. you have been told to follow your dreams, but what if it's a stupid dream? it's just a dream. go back to sleep. - stephen colbert 2011 @ northwestern university

2. anyone who tells you they are doing it all perfectly is a liar. - shonda rhimes 2014 @ dartmouth college

3. your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. risk being seen in all of your glory. - jim carrey 2014 @ maharishi internationality university

4. learn to live alongside cringe. no matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. - taylor swift 2022 @ new york university

5. if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud. - admiral mcraven 2014 @ the university of texas

6. don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. - mary schmich 1997 @ imaginary

7. what I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. - george saunders 2013 @ syracuse university

8. this is water. - david foster wallace 2005 @ kenyon university

9. you'll never see a u-haul behind a hearse. - denzel washington 2015 @ dillard university

10. remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. you are already naked. - steve jobs 2005 @ stanford university

if you’re feeling extra nostalgic, i highly recommend giving one or two of these a listen.

pretty pretty please if you have a favorite commencement speech that did not make this list, reply back & make my day.

and if you really really want to make my day & help me out, forward this email along to a friend 💛

new(ish)

taking a holiday from drops today.

expect something extra-special for next week.

in the mean time, shop my current collection.

moments for merrymaking

but trust me on the sunscreen,

MacK