WEBVTT - Josh Clark's Speech from Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020 0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:04.320 The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.920 but they can also be the most stressful, and with 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:11.280 the threat of COVID nineteen still looming, emotions are high 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:16.439 and can be overwhelming. Cal Hope can help with free 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:20.000 emotional support for you and your loved ones this holiday season. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:24.720 Call eight three three three one seven four six seven 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:28.360 three or live chat at cal Hope dot org. Today 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.159 at Metro by T Mobile, we're giving you more with 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:36.200 the Big five G upgrade. Now choose from the largest 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:38.680 selection of three five D phones and pre paid like 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:41.839 the Samsung Galaxy five G. Just switch and trade in 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.240 your old device, plus enjoy five G access on every 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.920 plan at no extra cost. All powered by the T 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:52.839 Mobile five G network only at Metro requires poured in 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:55.200 I D and eligible plan plus tax. Five D coverage 0:00:55.240 --> 0:01:01.600 not available everywhere. See sore for details. This episode is 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.920 brought to you by direct TV Stream, introducing direct TV 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.199 Stream the best of live TV and on demand, which 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:10.720 means you can watch your favorite sports, movies and shows 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.240 all in one place. So whether you want to catch 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:16.200 the game live or watch the latest blockbuster, they've got 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.280 you covered and there's no annual contract. Direct TV stream. 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:23.440 Get your TV together at direct tv dot Com requires 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.240 high speed Internet and compatible device. Content varies by package 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:30.040 and location restriction supply. Commencement Speeches for the Class of 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:42.600 twenty is a production of I Heart Radio. Class of Parents, Faculty, 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:50.480 rising graduates. Welcome to commencement. You made it. This year 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.880 is a little different at difficult time to graduate because 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.160 the traditional graduation day has been put on hold, So 0:01:57.400 --> 0:02:00.960 we're bringing it to you wherever you are because this 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.760 is still your day, your moments, and now put your 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.040 hands together. It's time to be inspired. This year's commencement 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:24.280 speaker the one and only Josh Clark. Dear students, congratulations 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.240 on reaching this point in your life. It's a big 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.800 deal and you should be proud of yourself now that 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:33.680 you've gotten here. I've come to fill you in on 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.480 a little secret you've been told for practically your whole life. 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:41.520 Now how special you are, how singularly important you are, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.760 how packed with uniqueness you are. And that is true. 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.880 You are special and unique and you are important. But 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.400 your parents and teachers haven't been telling you the whole 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.800 truth all of your life. They've only been showing you 0:02:55.880 --> 0:03:00.240 a part of the bigger picture. Surely you've noticed of 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.840 this throughout the time that you were in school, Like 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.919 when you got older and suddenly the stories in history 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.320 class began to get a lot darker. They told you 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.200 all those same stories when you were younger. They just 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.799 arranged the picture without all of the pieces to keep 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:20.160 you from truly understanding. And perhaps you resented it when 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.400 you realize the whole truth have been kept from you. 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.880 That's understandable. Most of us do feel that way. But 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.440 don't waste your time stewing on this. Each generation does 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.320 it to the next. They think it protects the young, 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.040 when really it just keeps things as they are. The 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.320 important thing here is to learn from that experience, because 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:43.160 people are going to continue to do this to you 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:45.960 your whole life. People will try to lay out the 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.840 pieces of the truth that fit together to make the 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.040 picture they want you to see. It's a way to 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.640 get people to do what you want them to, and 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.280 throughout your life you will get this from all sorts 0:03:57.280 --> 0:04:01.360 of people. People you're friends with, people you love, people 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:05.280 on television, people on the internet, people running your government, 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:09.640 people running other people's governments. Your actions and your thoughts 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:13.560 are powerful and influential, and people want to sway them. 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:15.960 This means that you will have to learn to think 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:20.000 for yourself, do your own research, seek out people who 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.920 are experts on the topic, talk to other people. In 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:26.440 this day and age, it's not enough to trust your 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.520 eyes or your ears. You have to put in work 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:33.480 to find the truth. Don't be lazy. Find the truth. 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:37.240 It's not necessarily what's on the news. It's also not 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.280 necessarily what's in some video that says the news is lying. 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:45.440 Always remember this. Whatever someone is showing you, they're probably 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:48.479 only showing you part of the picture. It's up to 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:50.919 you to fill in the rest of the pieces that 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.920 make up the whole truth. And maybe you'll never find it. 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:59.000 That's okay. It would be exhausting to spend your life 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:03.119 constantly search for the truth, constantly paranoid that every person 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:07.000 you speak to is manipulating you. Don't do that. That's 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.000 not what life is about, and people aren't that mean 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:13.320 at their core. Most people don't even realize they're showing 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.760 you an incomplete picture, and usually they're not doing it 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:21.400 for nefarious purposes when they do. Instead, the vast majority 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.960 of people are just passing along an incomplete picture that 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:29.640 someone else showed them. This happens a lot. It's a 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.760 big problem. So to keep from dying of exhaustion by 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:38.040 age thirty all haggard and paranoid and upset, do two things. 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:42.279 One decide if something is important enough to you or 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.400 the world to search out the missing pieces to find 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:48.480 the truth of the matter. Sometimes all it takes is 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.280 an effective Google search and taking the time to read 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:55.080 a couple of reliable articles. But remember that even if 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:58.240 you do search high and low, you may never find 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.080 the truth about whatever it is you're trying to understand. 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.040 So it better be important if you're going to go 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:08.040 looking for the truth of a matter. And two, if 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:12.839 it's not important, shrug it off. You will never know everything. 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.760 You'll never know most things. Some things will be important 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.360 enough for you to search for most will not be. 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.719 But if you decide it's not that important, then and 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:27.200 this is really important, don't pass along the incomplete picture 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:31.279 to others. When you do that, you are shaping someone 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:35.000 else's view of things. They trust you. They know you're 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.400 a good person with the good of the world at heart, 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:41.200 so why would you lie throughout your life? People will 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.919 listen to what comes out of your mouth, So be 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:48.280 careful that you believe in what you say. But back 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.400 to what I was saying before about your parents and 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.839 teachers giving you an incomplete picture. I hope you understand 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.279 a little better now that they don't mean any harm 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.240 by it. They might think they were protecting you all 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.640 these years by keeping ugly truths from you. But those 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.159 ugly truths, hard as they can be to take, are 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.640 what allow us to grow as people. If you see 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:12.480 a beautiful flower, you admire it and are glad that 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.600 it's there. If you see a weed growing, though, you 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.840 pull it. But if the people around you are telling 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.600 you that the weed you're seeing is actually a flower, 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.640 it's hard to know otherwise, and it's even harder to 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:28.440 know that the weeds should be pulled. Remember that your 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.880 parents and your teachers weren't lying to you because they 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.880 wanted to deceive you. Their parents and their teachers showed 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.520 them pictures of weeds that grow in our world and 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.280 told them that they were flowers too, And their parents, parents, 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:45.200 and their teachers teachers told them some weeds have been 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.360 called flowers for so long that no matter what you 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:51.080 say to some people, they will fight you tooth and 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:55.280 nail that the weed is a flower. That's their truth, 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:58.600 and people are deeply protective of what they hold to 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.880 be true, even when it's not true at all. Part 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.200 of the reason they'll fight and argue with you when 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.840 you tell them a flower is actually a weed is 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:11.440 just simple laziness. It takes a lot more effort to 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.200 pull a weed than it does to pretend it's a flower. 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.840 But the bigger reason they'll argue is because they don't 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.960 want to believe they've been wrong all this time. The 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:24.160 thing is, no matter how long everyone's called a weed 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:26.800 a flower, there's some aspects to a weed that a 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.040 flower doesn't have that will always give a weed away, 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:34.520 like hurting people. If something that people you know say 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:38.160 is a flower harms other people, it's really a weed. 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:41.839 Weeds can hurt people in all kinds of ways. Maybe 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:44.480 they give rights to some people but not to others. 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.440 Maybe they make it so some people have more wealth 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:50.920 and power than they could ever possibly use, while other 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:54.920 people have so little they can't barely scrape by other 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.640 Weeds make it so that when some people hurt other 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.840 people or other life or the play in it, they 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.760 don't get in trouble for it. If you suspect a 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.240 flower is really a weed, and you look at it 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.079 closely enough, you'll see that the people who say it's 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:11.920 a flower are the ones who get all the benefits 0:09:11.960 --> 0:09:15.000 from it. And you'll also find there's a whole other 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.320 group of people out there who've been calling it a 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:21.600 weed all this time. It's just that nobody's listened to them. 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.600 And sometimes it's even worse than that. Sometimes those people 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:28.960 are told that their own flowers are weeds. So what 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:30.520 does all of this have to do with you being 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:34.400 special and unique? Excellent question, And actually that's the whole 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:38.000 point of everything. It's not a lie that you are 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.640 special and unique. You are both of those things, but 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.959 not simply because you're you, as you've been led to 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.040 believe all these years. That's an incomplete picture of the 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:52.400 whole truth. You are special and unique because you were 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:56.760 born a human being. All human beings are special and unique, 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.760 not just as individuals, but the whole human race. Every 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.800 one of us is special. Every one of us is unique, 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:06.600 and the same goes not just for human beings but 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:12.280 for all living things. Life is special, and in this way, 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:14.959 every single person that you will ever meet in your 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:18.880 entire life is as valuable and worthwhile as you are. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.360 Some of these other people you'll meet, we'll disagree with you, 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:24.960 and some of them may harm you. Just because a 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.520 person is unique and special doesn't mean that they're good. 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:30.400 But as hard as it can be to remember, sometimes 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:35.280 never forget that, on the whole, human beings are generally good. 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:40.360 They generally care about each other, they generally want what's best, 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:45.040 and most just don't forget that humanity is generally good. 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:48.679 It's just that sometimes other people don't recognize a flower 0:10:49.080 --> 0:11:02.800 is really a weed. You can find a reflection of 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.760 incredible commencement addresses from all your favorite speakers at the 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:08.840 Commencement Podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:09.679 to podcasts.