After seeing snippets of Mr. David McCullough Jr.’s commencement speech posted on numerous sites over the past few days, I decided to read it thoroughly a number of times. I agree with everything he said. The man spoke the truth without sugar-coating anything, and I applaud him for that. Although his speech was addressing an audience of privileged, middle class, high school students, it’s clear that his views about selflessness were for anyone (no matter the social class, age, etc.) who would be listening. He believes that too many young adults are caught up way too much in themselves, and after years of being cuddled and cajoled, they should know that they are truly “not special”.

Now if you don’t know me personally, and you’re only familiar with my random blog posts and pictures, you’re probably thinking that I should learn a thing or two, right? I would probably agree with that too. I would also argue that you too have some things to learn from that speech because I think it addresses everyone in one form or another– even the speaker, himself. It is just another reminder of the things that really matter stated in a very clear way.

Every time I decide to make a post, I ask myself why it’s really necessary. I wonder if it really matters if I really liked a restaurant, or decided to buy or new shade of red lipstick, or ran all over New York City wearing a purple wig and heart-shaped sunglasses. Who cares?! Right? Then, I answer, I do. I like remembering my great adventures or fun laid-back times with friends, and I like sharing them with whoever cares enough to click on my link (ahem, mom).

I know that my life was not always easy for me. It was not always bubbles and hula hoops, and rainbows. It’s still not. Believe me when I say I’ve worked very hard to get where I am, and I know I still have a long way to go. I’ve always known all of my hard work was not really that special because that’s just life. People who want to advance and don’t have the means, work hard (and hope for a little bit of luck). Everyone goes through hardships and obstacles. Everyone feels sad and helpless at times. Everyone struggles one way or another.

You want something, you work for it. It’s simple. Now life can get extremely tedious if all we do is work, I think we can all agree there needs to be some play involved. I believe in a balanced lifestyle, and I believe in play. That is the reason, I decided to make my blog. I wanted to document my happy moments and journey in my favorite city. The longer I stay the more in love I fall, and I wanted to remember these moments for the rest of my life. I wanted to steer clear of opinions about debatable issues, sad times, and struggles because we already have to deal with these things often enough, why not focus on the positive things for once? I feel like happy moments get taken for granted all the time, and we sometimes forget about those simple things that bring a smile to our faces. I don’t believe those moments have to be grand, or elaborate. I think they can be as small as a caterpillar, or easy as a summer breeze.  I post about things that make me happy and hope to share my smile with others when I can, and I surely don’t think I’m special.

Mr. David McCullough Jr.’s intentions were to capture and maintain the audience’s attention for the entirety of the speech. He was hoping that the kids and anyone listening would understand his message about selflessness. He suggested that life in general would be better if one tried to live in a way to help and care for their community. Who wouldn’t agree with that? Like Mr. McCullough mentioned, I will continue or at least try my best to practice the following: I will read. Read all the time. Dream big. And I will for damn sure continue to work hard. And to add to his list of things, I will also play, and at times, I will even document about it because I can.

To read the full article, click HERE! Tell me what you think about it.