First Lady Jill Biden shared her personal story of overcoming tragedy in class 2021 at George Mason University on May 14. “A few years ago I had to tell my class that I was going to miss the next session for personal reasons,” she began. “My students never suffered from curiosity. So they immediately started screaming, “Dr. B, Dr. B, where are you going? ‘
“My sister had the first of her cancer treatments and she would be in a hospital room for six weeks,” said Dr. Biden. “I tried to explain with as much serenity as possible, but the words got caught in my throat. So I turned to the whiteboard, hoping to hold back my emotions. And when I turned around again, the whole class was standing. They stood up and hugged me, one after the other. “
She added: “Until that moment, I didn’t realize how hard I was struggling or how much I needed her strength. Sooner or later we all suffer from heart pain – some unimaginable. Some that we might think we might not survive. In my life I could never have imagined my heart would be shattered. Sometimes our strength comes from within … and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes we carry the weight of our lives … and sometimes our knees buckle under us. But remember in these moments: you are not alone. Let the people who love you carry this weight. “
Grammy-winning singer / songwriter John Legend also emphasized the importance of overcoming obstacles in an opening address for Duke University on May 2nd. During the speech, he said it was his first time in front of a live audience since last February. “Your class has lost a lot,” said Legend. “Some lost vacancies. Some lost loved ones, and all of you stick with those little moments that make college special for a full year. I feel your pain You lost something that you cannot get back. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It sucks. “But the musician also highlighted what the class has to gain and what opportunities it has to learn.
“America’s history has always been shaped by an effort to exclude, dominate, subjugate, hold certain groups of people without a voice, without power and without a chance – workers, women, indigenous people, blacks, immigrants, the LGBTQ community. All off fear that if these people were better off, someone else would lose, “said Legend.” But the miracle of our history is that we proved at our best moments that those fears were unfounded when we broadened the opportunity. ”
During a CNN special that aired May 23, Vice President Kamala Harris included in her congratulations for the 2021 class a recognition of all students. “You now know that you have what it takes to overcome pretty much anything,” she said. “So when you run into an obstacle, when you have a setback – and you will, all of us – remember the resilience you have shown over the past year. The determination. Remember that you have the power to get through anything.
“You don’t have to go through anything alone. You’re not alone. We’re all in it together and if we take care of each other, everyone is better. “
President Joe Biden delivered a similar message to the senior class at the US Coast Guard Academy on May 19. “No class can choose the world to graduate in,” he said. “The challenges you will have to face in your career will be very different from the ones you entered these halls before.”
But the president said “We have proven that there is not a single thing we as a nation cannot do when we do it together.”
Take a look at some more closing speakers with words of hope for the class of 2021:
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