Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Swarthmore.

I played a character named Bayard Rustin And Bayard Rustin had a really wonderful quote, because I see so many of you here today and I want to say it again. I'm going to look you in the eyes. If she will look me in the eye. If she will look me in the eye. If she will look me in the eye. 

Bayard Rustin said, "We need in every community a group of angelic troublemakers." And Bayard Rustin’s spirit is here today and I want to say, you're going to walk out of here and use that voice to change. You're going to use this community to make this world a better place.

Listen, we are living in hard times, crazy times, wild times. But when I tell you, sitting here today, I feel so hopeful. You are the change that we need to stand up, always, and use your voices. To be in community with each other. 

But also, I want to remind you, you must do it with love. You must do it with grace. You must do it with rigor. You must do it with passion. You must do it. Yes, use that rage. Use that spirit. Use it to make this world the way you want it to be. I want to inspire you to yes! Say ‘yes’ to each other. Can I get a yes? Can I get a yes? All right.

Now to my prepared words. My brothers and sisters. To the graduating class of Swarthmore College, Class of 2026. There is a particular kind of courage it takes to become yourself in a world that is constantly trying to hand you a script. And I believe many of you arrived here carrying expectations that were stitched together by family history, survival, ambition, fear, and hope. 

Some of you came here certain of who you were. Some of you arrived beautifully unfinished. All of you are leaving changed. Now, that is the point. You did not come to college to merely collect facts and frame a diploma. You came here to sharpen your humanity. Am I right? You came here to sit in discomfort, to question what power means. To ask who gets heard and who gets erased. To fall in love with ideas, and perhaps with each other. To discover that brilliance without compassion is simply hollow. 

And now the world waits for you out there. All right. It's not a perfect world. Not an easy one. It's a fractured one. A loud one. A world aching for people who can think deeply and still remain tender. People who can hold complexity without surrendering their joy. People who understand that kindness is not a weakness and integrity is not naivete.

Fellow class, do not shrink yourselves to fit into rooms that have not yet learned your language. Some of you will become artists, some teachers, scientists, organizers, parents, diplomats, storytellers, builders. Some of you will hold jobs that do not exist yet. Some of you will reinvent yourselves many times over. Give yourselves permission to evolve. There is no prize for arriving early at a life that does not belong to you. And my friends, when the world grows cold, because sometimes it will, remain astonished by beauty anyway.

I hope that you will dance at weddings and you call your friends back. I hope that you'll read poetry and trains. I want you to tell the truth: even when your voice shakes. Wear the beautiful outfit on an ordinary Tuesday because you feel the need to just put that [snaps] on. I want you to protect your inner child like they survived something sacred. Because they did. You come from a long line of people who dream forward on your behalf. Some had degrees. Some did not. Some crossed oceans. Some crossed neighborhoods. Some simply endured long enough for you to sit right there.

Now, in your cap and gown beneath this impossible sky, honor them not by living safely. Honor them by living fully. Class of 2026, your life is not a performance for approval. It is an offering, a song only you can sing. 

So my hope for you today is to go forward with rigor. Go forward with style. Go forward with conviction. And above all, go forward with love so immense that people feel more alive simply because you entered the room. 

I wish you love. I wish you light. I wish you joy. And I wish you so much peace.

Please do me a favor. I want you to stand up and thank everybody who got you here. Stand up. I'm so proud to be a part of you, Swarthmore College. Thank you so very much. This means the world to me. Thank you. Thank you, Valerie, and thank you to the Board of Managers. And thank you so much to the faculty and students.