Denzel Washington, internationally renowned actor and director, delivered the address at the University of Pennsylvania’s 255th Commencement on Monday, May 16. Washington is one of the nation’s preeminent performing artists, having achieved wide acclaim for his film, theatrical and television performances, as well as his accomplishments in film directing and television production. Washington has received the most distinguished accolades of his art, including two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. At Commencement, Washington received an honorary doctor of arts degree.
Denzel Washington highlighted three reasons why we need to embrace failure in order to be successful. First, everybody will fail at something at some point, so you better get used to it. Second, if you never fail, take that as a sign that you’re not really trying. And third, at the end of the day, failure will help you figure out what path you want to be on.
Penn’s 2011 Commencement Address by Denzel Washington
Transcript of the Video:
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please join me in welcoming Denzel
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Washington
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thank you thank you very much
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I am obviously the most unorganized
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everybody else has nice boxes bring
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their script up in and I just like kind
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of got it all my stuff here we put it
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inside of a magazine so so in fact I
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don’t even have it in the right order
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wait a minute let me get in the right
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order here so if it starts like flying
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around the stage just you know run
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around and grab it for me and bring it
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back up here for me I’ll keep going as I
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can
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president Gutmann Provost price board
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chair cohen fellow honorees beautiful
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honorees and today’s graduates um I’m
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honored and grateful for the invitation
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today I’m it’s always been great to be
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on the Penn campus I’ve been here before
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a lot of times for basketball games my
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son played at the Palestra played on the
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basketball team I yeah that’s right
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played on the basketball team coach
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didn’t give me enough playing time we’ll
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talk about that later
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no I’m really are I really pleased with
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the progress that Coach Allen has made
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and no I do I am I really am and I hope
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I’m the best success in the future and
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you know I always get a warm welcome
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when I come to Pennsylvania when I come
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to Philadelphia except on the few
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occasions where I wear my Yankee cap
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what’s wrong with that III can’t
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suddenly just switch up and wear a
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Philly cap I mean and I mean it’s like
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taking your life in your hands around
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here when you were a Yankee cap I’m
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telling you I met a couple of guys and
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they were like hey we love you Denzel
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but you know you’re walking around with
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that hat on we don’t care who you are so
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you be happy to see that I’m not wearing
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my Yankee cap today I’m wearing my
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Yankee socks my Yankee t-shirt my Yankee
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jock shorts and yaki underwear my Yankee
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toe warmers but it’s not my Yankee cap
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but still I’ll be honest with you I’m
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I’m a little nervous I’m not used to
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speaking at a graduation of this
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magnitude it’s a little overwhelming
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it’s out of my comfort zone
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now you dressed me up in army fatigues
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or throwing me on top of a moving train
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someone said unstoppable or asked me to
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play mile for max Rubin hurricane Carter
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or Alonzo from training day I can do
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that but the commencement speech it’s
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it’s very serious affair and it’s a very
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different ballgame there are literally
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thousands and thousands of people here
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and for those who say well you’re a
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movie star millions of people watch you
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and watch you speak all the time well
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that’s – that that’s a trek technically
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true but I’m not actually in the theater
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watching them watching me
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I think that makes sense I mean I’m not
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there when they call for a fidget around
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or pull out their iPhones or tech boy
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friend or scratch their behinds or
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whatever it is they’re doing in the
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movie theater but from up here I can see
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every single one of you and that makes
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me uncomfortable so please don’t pull
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out your iPhone’s and your text don’t
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text your boyfriend until after I’m done
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please if you have to scratch it behind
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I mean I understand go ahead I was
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thinking about this speech what I should
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say I figured the best way to keep your
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attention would be to talk about
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something you know really like juicy
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Hollywood stuff like I thought I could
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talk about me and Russell Crowe getting
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in arguments on a set of American
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Gangster or but I said now now now
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you’re a group of high-minded
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intellectuals you’re not interested in
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that
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yeah oh maybe not I thought about a
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private moment I had backstage with
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Angelina Jolie in a dressing room after
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the Oscars but I said no I don’t think
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so this is an Ivy League school and I
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mean Angelina Jolie half naked in a
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dressing room who wants to hear about
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that no one no one no one no one this is
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Penn that stuff would never go over well
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over here maybe a Drexel but not over
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whoever in trouble now so I was back to
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square one feeling the pressure so now
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you’re probably thinking if it was going
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to be this difficult this is what’s
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pressure why did I even accept today’s
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invitation in the first place well you
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know my son goes here that’s number one
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that’s a good reason and I always like
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to check to see how my money is being
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spent and I’m sure there’s some parents
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out there who can relate to what I’m
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talking about yeah hmm everybody
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upstairs and there were some other good
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reasons for me to show up sure I got an
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Academy Award but I never had something
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called a magic meatball
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after waiting in line for half an hour
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at the pool truck yeah yes I talk face
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to face with President Obama but I never
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talked face to face with a guy named
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tweeter who sings bad songs over it
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smokes on Tuesday night I never been to
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bouys I never been the demos yes I have
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played a detective who battles demons
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but I’ve never been to a school in my
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life where the squirrel population has
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gone bananas I mean they’re breaking in
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the dorm rooms they’re walking around
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campus I think I saw some carrying books
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on their way to class
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so I had to be here I had to come even
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though I was afraid I might make a fool
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of myself in fact if you really want to
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know the truth
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I had to come exactly because I had to
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come exactly because I might make a fool
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of myself now what am I talking about
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here it is I found that nothing in life
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is worthwhile unless you take risks
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nothing Nelson Mandela said there is no
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passion to be found playing small and
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settling for a life that’s less than the
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one you’re capable of living now I’m
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sure in your experiences in school and
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applying to college and picking your
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major and deciding what you want to do
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with life I’m sure people that told you
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to make sure you have something to fall
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back on make sure you got something to
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fall back on honey but I never
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understood that concept having something
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to fall back on
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if I’m going to fall I don’t want to
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fall back on anything except my faith I
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want to fall forward I figure at least
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this way I’ll see what I’m going to hit
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fall forward this is what I mean
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Reggie Jackson struck out 26 hundred
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times in his career the most in the
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history of baseball but you don’t hear
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about the strikeouts people remember the
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homeruns fall forward
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thomas edison conducted 1,000 failed
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experiments did you know that i didn’t
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know that because the 1,000 and first
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was the light bulb fall forward every
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failed experiment is one step closer to
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success you’ve got to take risks and i’m
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sure you probably heard that before but
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i want to talk to you about why that’s
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important I got three reasons and then
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you can pick up your iPhone’s first you
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will fail at some point in your life
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accept it you will lose you will
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embarrass yourself you will suck at
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something there’s no doubt about it and
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I know that’s probably not a traditional
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message for a graduation ceremony today
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I’m telling you embrace it
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because it’s inevitable and I should
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know in the acting business you fail all
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the time early on in my career I
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auditioned for a part in a Broadway
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musical perfect role for me I thought
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except for the fact that I can’t sing so
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I’m in the wings I’m about to go onstage
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but the guy in front of me he’s singing
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like like like Pavarotti he’s just no
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longer he’s just going on and on and on
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and I’m just shrinking I’m getting
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smaller and smaller so they say oh thank
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you very much thank you very much and
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you will you’ll be hearing from us so I
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come out with my little sheet music and
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it was it was a just my imagination by
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the temptations that’s what I came up
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with so I hand it to the the accompanies
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and she looks at it and looks at me and
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excited the director
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was like all right so I start you know
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like I’m gonna sing I’m once again again
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carrying away with me and they’re not
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saying anything so I’m thinking I’m
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getting better I start to start getting
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into it
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running this out of you thank you thank
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you thank you thank you very much mr.
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Washington thank you so I assumed I
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didn’t get the job but the next part of
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the audition he called me back the next
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part of the audition is the acting part
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of the audition so I’m like hey okay
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maybe I can’t sing but I know I can act
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so they pair me with this guy and again
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I didn’t know about musical theater in
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musical theater is big so they can reach
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everyone all the way in the back of the
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stadium and I’m more from a realistic
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naturalistic kind of acting where you
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you know you actually talk to the person
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next to you so I don’t know what my line
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was my line was will hand me the cut and
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his line was well I will hand you the
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cup my dear the cup would be there to be
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handed to you I said okay
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well should I give you the cup back oh
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yes you should give it back to me
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because you know that is my cup and it
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should be given back to me I didn’t get
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the job but here’s the thing I didn’t
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quit I didn’t fall back I walked out it
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it to prepare for the next audition and
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the next audition and the next audition
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I prayed I prayed and I prayed
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but I continue to fail and fail and fail
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but it didn’t matter because you know
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what is an old saying you hang around
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the barbershop long enough sooner or
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later you’re going to get a haircut so
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you will catch a break and I did catch a
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break last year I did a play called
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fences on Broadway someone talked about
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it won the Tony Award and I didn’t have
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to sing by the way but here’s the kicker
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he was at the Court Theatre he was at
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the same theatre that I failed that
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first audition 30 years prior the the
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point is and I’ll pick up the pace the
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point is every graduate here today has
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the training and the talent to succeed
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but do you have the guts to fail here’s
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my second point about failure if you
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don’t fail you’re not even trying
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I’ll say it again if you don’t fail
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you’re not even trying my wife told me
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this great expression to get something
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you never had you have to do something
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you never did Les Brown’s a motivational
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speaker you made an analogy about this
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he says imagine you’re on your deathbed
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and standing around your deathbed are
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the ghosts representing your unfulfilled
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potential the ghost of the ideas you
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never acted on the ghosts of the talents
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you didn’t use and they’re standing
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around your bed angry disappointed and
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upset they say we came to you because
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you could have brought us to life they
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say and now we have to go to the grave
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together so I ask you today how many
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ghosts are going to be around your bed
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when your time comes
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you go west you’ve invested a lot in
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your education and people have invested
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in you and let me tell you the world
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needs your talents and does it ever I
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just got back from Africa like two days
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ago so if I’m rambling on it’s cuz I’m
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jet lag I just got back from South
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Africa it’s a beautiful country but
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there are places there with terrible
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part of it poverty that need help in
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Africa is just the tip of the iceberg
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the Middle East needs your help
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Japan needs your help Alabama needs your
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help Tennessee needs your help
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Louisiana needs your help Philadelphia
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needs your help the world the world
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needs a lot and we need it from you we
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really do we need it from you young
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people I mean I’m not speaking for the
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rest of us up here but I know I’m
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getting a little grayer we need it from
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you the young people because remember
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this so you got to get out there you got
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to give it everything you got
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whether it’s your time your your your
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talent your prayers or your treasures
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because remember this you will never see
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a u-haul behind a hearse
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I’ll say it again you will never see a
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u-haul behind a hearse you can’t take it
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with you
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the Egyptians tried it and all they got
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was robbed so the question is what are
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you going to do with what you have I’m
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not talking about how much you have some
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of you are business majors some of you
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are theologians nurses sociologists some
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of you have money some of you have
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patients some of you have kindness some
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of you have loved some of you have the
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gift of long-suffering whatever it is
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whatever your gift is what are you going
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to do with what you have all right now
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here’s my last point about failure
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sometimes it’s the best way to figure
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out where you’re going your life will
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never be a straight path I began at
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Fordham University as a pre-med student
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I took a course called the cardiac
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morphus I still can’t say it cardiac
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cardiac morphogenesis I couldn’t read it
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I couldn’t say it I sure couldn’t pass
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it so then I decided to go into pre-law
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then journalism and with no academic
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focus my grades took off in their own
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direction
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yeah down I was a 1.8 GPA one semester
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and the University very politely
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suggested that it might be better to
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take some time off I was twenty years
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old
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I was at my lowest point and then one
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day and I remember the exact day March
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27 1975 I was helping my mother in her
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beauty shop my mother owned the beauty
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shop up in my Vernon and there’s there
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was this older woman who was considered
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one of the elders in the town and I
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didn’t know her personally but I was
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looking in the mirror and every time I
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looked at the mirror I could see her
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behind me and she was staring at me she
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just kept looking at me every time I
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looked at it she kept giving me these
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strange looks so she finally took the
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dryer off her head and sets the sump she
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said something I’ll never forget
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first of all she said somebody give me a
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piece of paper give me a piece of paper
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she said young boy I have a prophecy a
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spiritual prophecy she said you are
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going to travel the world and speak to
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millions of people now mind you I’m 20
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years old I’m flunked out of school in
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fact like a wiseass I’m thinking to
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myself maybe she’s got something in that
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crystal ball about me getting back at
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the school next fall but maybe she was
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onto something because later that summer
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while working as a counselor to YMCA
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camp in Connecticut we put on a talent
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show for the campers and after the show
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another counselor came up to me and
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asked have you ever thought about acting
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you’re good at that so when I got back
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to Fordham that fall I got in and I
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changed my major once again for the last
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time and in the years that followed just
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as that woman prophesized I have
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traveled the world and I have spoken to
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millions of people through my movies
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millions who up till this day couldn’t
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see me up till this day I couldn’t see
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while I was talking to them and they
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couldn’t see me they could only see the
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movie they couldn’t see the real me
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but I see you today
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and I’m encouraged by what I see and I’m
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strengthened by what I see and I love
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what I see
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one more page now shut up let me
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conclude with this one final point
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actually the president kind of brought
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it up has to do with the movie
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Philadelphia
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she stole my material many years ago I
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did this movie called Philadelphia we
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filmed some of the scenes right here on
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campus Philadelphia came out in 1993
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most of you were probably still in
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diapers some of the professors too but I
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cracked me up but it was a good movie
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ran it on what he called it Netflix it’s
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good movie renting I get 23 cents every
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time you rent it please true parents up
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their rent rent rented netflix please
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tell your friends too it’s about a man
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played by Tom Hanks who’s fired from his
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law firm because he has AIDS he wants to
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sue the firm but no one’s willing to
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represent him until the homophobic
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ambulance chaser lawyer played by yours
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truly takes on the case in a way if you
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watched the movie you’ll see everything
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I’m talking about today you’ll see what
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I mean about taking risk or being
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willing to fail because taking risk is
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not just about going for a job it’s also
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about knowing what you know and what you
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don’t know it’s about being open to
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people and to ideas in the course of the
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film the character I play begins to take
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small steps small risks he’s very very
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very slowly begins to overcome his fears
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and I feel ultimately his heart becomes
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flooded with love and I can’t think of a
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better message as we send you off today
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to not only take risks but to be open to
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life to accept new views and to be open
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to new opinions to be willing to speak
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at a commencement at one of the best
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country vesica universities in the
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country even though you’re scared stiff
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while it may be frightening it will also
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be rewarding because the chances you
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take the people you meet the people you
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love the faith that you have that’s
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what’s going to define you so members of
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the class of 2011 this is your mission
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when you leave the friendly confines of
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Philly never be discouraged never hold
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back give everything you got and when
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you fall throughout life and maybe even
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tonight after a few many glasses of
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champagne
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remember this fall forward
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congratulations I love you god bless you
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I respect you
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you
