Transcription
Thank you very much, everybody. You sound amazing. You sound really good. How's everybody feeling? This is such a crazily exciting moment, isn't it? It's just—it's just wild. It is such an unspeakable honor to be here in your esteemed company, um, graduating alongside all of you on this gorgeously overcast Thursday, with this tide of violet. It's kind of overwhelming.
My name is Jacob and I'm a musician all the way from London, which is a small town in England. Yep. Oh, London's over there. Very good. And you know, growing up as a musician, there's something people often like to talk about about this idea of finding your voice. It's a sort of a like a big fundamental question that we ask ourselves. What is my voice? What about my music makes it mine? What kinds of sounds and stories get me excited? Who do I want to play like and feel like and sing like? You know, when I was young, for me this is like Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Earth, Wind, and Fire, The Beatles, Bjork, Freddie Mercury, Bobby McFerrin, Bartok, Skrillex, the whole gang. Yeah.
And you know, one thing about finding a voice is that the harder you strive to find it, the more elusive it becomes. And at a certain point, you realize it can't be found by looking. The thing with your voice is that it's already there. Michelangelo said this kind of wonderful thing about his sculptures when he was asked how he created them. He famously said something like, "Well, I simply remove what's not the sculpture and the sculpture reveals itself. It was there all along."
Now, I know that not all 30,000 of you are sculptors or artists, but this magical precipice that you find yourselves at today bears some resemblance, I think, to the artist's dilemma. And some of the same big questions might be reverberating around your minds. What's your purpose in the world? What feels the most crucial to do and say? And how would you like to say it? Well, for the last 15 years, you've had a lot of people telling you how to use your voice, what to say, what not to say, what to do, where to go, what's important, what's right, and what's wrong. And, you know, teachers, mentors, parents, but from this moment on, it's up to you. This is your moment to discover a voice of your own to sing your song. So exciting.
And, you know, best believe you're singing to a moment in human history where everything is changing at such an astonishing rate, right? So much is yet to be determined. And no matter what the experts may tell you, nobody knows what's coming next. You have as much fun as anybody about what the world's going to look like over the next few years. And your voice is going to be crucial in shaping that. And well, thank you. It's true.
And as you well know, there are certain people in this world, fearful people who feel powerful when your voice is taken away, who will try and make your voice small, and with it your power. They will speak down to you. They will try to silence you. And there is a lot of that happening in the world right now. It's not new, but it's true. But, but a real leader knows that real power comes from making the people around you feel powerful. When the people around you feel powerful, your power only magnifies and it becomes strength. And strength becomes resilience. And resilience in turn becomes power. And so as you go forth today from Yankee Stadium into the world with all your big crazy ideas and schemes, never forget to lift up the voices around you. They will become a part of your voice. That's how magic works. You get it when you give it. And everything you need to find it is already there in you and the people around you. And the truth is, you'll be finding your voice for the rest of your days. It's going to keep showing up in friendships, the workplace, relationships, family. There will be cruises and there will be challenges. And underneath all of it, you are and always have been exactly who you're meant to be. And that is who the world needs now more than ever before: To say something that only you can say. To sing a song that only you can sing. And to claim a voice of your own that was yours all along. And one thing's for certain, it's going to be one hell of a sound. Congratulations, graduates, on your monumental achievement. Thank you for the extraordinary honor of your esteemed company. I'll be singing along with you out there forever. Cheers, everybody. Much love.