Taylor Swift Shines at NYU Graduation — Here's What She Had to Say in Her Speech
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Um, that's Dr. Taylor Swift to you! The New York University (NYU) is awarded the "All Too Well" singer a well-deserved honorary doctorate.
The songstress got passed a Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, diploma and tossed her cap after she addressed the university's class of 2022 on May 18 at Yankee Stadium.
“Hi, I’m Taylor, last time I was in a stadium this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard,” she joked as she began her speech. After thanking NYU, she continued her witty remark by saying "As for me, I am 90 percent sure I am here because I have a song called ‘22.’ And let me just say, I am elated to be with you here today as we celebrate and graduate New York University’s Class of ‘22.”
Her inspiring speech kicked off after the jokes by her saying that none of the people graduating had "has done it alone," adding that "we are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us, those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn’t easy to hear. Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that."
Taylor found the time to thank her mom, dad, and brother Austin "for the sacrifices they made every day so that I could go from singing in coffee houses to standing up here with you all today," applauding all of the graduates' parents, family members, mentors, teachers, allies, friends, and loved ones.
She also addressed the fact that there has been some controversy with her receiving the honorary doctorate, reaffirming her thanks to NYU "for making me technically, on paper at least, a doctor," but "not the type of doctor you would want around in the case of an emergency unless your specific emergency was that you desperately needed to hear a song with a catchy hook and an intensely cathartic bridge section. Or if your emergency was that you needed a person who can name over 50 breeds of cats in one minute."
Taylor admitted that while she had dreamed of going to college as a teen, she knew it wasn't in the card for her as she finished her schooling via home school while on tour, traveling by bus and plane. "As a kid, I always thought I would go away to college, imagining the posters I’d hang on the wall of my freshmen dorm," she said, "I even set the ending of my music video for my song “Love Story” at my fantasy imaginary college, where I meet a male model reading a book on the grass, and with one single glance, we realize we had been in love in our past lives."
After acknowledging the challenges that the Class of 2022 had to face with the COVID-19 pandemic altering schooling by becoming primarily virtual, Taylor gave some free advice to the graduates. First, she said that "life can be heavy," so you must learn "what things to keep, and what things to release."
Then the singer said that it's important to "learn to live alongside cringe" as "No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively," before joking that "You’re probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious."
Poking fun at her "1950s housewife" wardrobe choices in 2012, the crowd clearly could be heard roaring with laughter for their speaker, before she gave a more in-depth look at her own life.
Speaking on her experience of growing up in the public eye during the 2000s and 2010s, she said that "Being the youngest person in every room for over a decade meant that I was constantly being issued warnings from older members of the music industry, the media, interviewers, executives. This advice often presented itself as thinly veiled warnings."
"I was a teenager in the public eye at a time when our society was absolutely obsessed with the idea of having perfect young female role models," she continued, "It felt like every interview I did included slight barbs by the interviewer about me one day ‘running off the rails.’ So I became a young adult while being fed the message that if I didn’t make any mistakes, all the children of America would grow up to be perfect angels. However, if I did slip up, the entire earth would fall off its axis and it would be entirely my fault and I would go to pop star jail forever and ever. It was all centered around the idea that mistakes equal failure and ultimately, the loss of any chance at a happy or rewarding life."
She rebuked what she was told by saying that "This has not been my experience. My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life."
After saying that the public treated her love life like "a spectator sport" and being "publicly humiliated" at times, Taylor took a beat to seemingly address the 2016 Kanye drama by saying "Getting canceled on the internet and nearly losing my career gave me an excellent knowledge of all the types of wine."
Before wrapping up, Swift said "We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars and our dreams. And you will screw it up sometimes. So will I," she added, "And when I do, you will most likely read about it on the internet."
To the sound of roaring applause Taylor ended her epic speech with the send-off every Swiftie was waiting for: "I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you. We’re doing this together. So let’s just keep dancing like we’re…the class of '22."
On the way to the ceremony, Swift posted a TikTok video where she was seen suiting up in her purple graduation regalia, a little black dress, and leopard print heels. “Wearing a cap and gown for the very first time – see you soon NYU,” Swift captioned the video.
Prior to the March 28 announcement that Swift would become an NYU alum, the university had already given her academic reverence. NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music debuted a new course back in January, focusing on the singer-songwriter's business and writing practices, as well as how fandom, gender, and race collide in the music industry.
Taylor is certainly no stranger to receiving accolades—think back to her 11 Grammy Awards, 23 Billboard Music Awards, and impressive winning streaks thanks to albums like Fearless, Red, and 1989. This hits differently though, as it is Taylor's first academic award.
To celebrate her graduation, Taylor recently premiered a new line of merchandise for recent college grads called the "I'm Feeling '22" graduation collection. Dr. Swift has truly thought of everything. The lineup includes patches and charms to decorate your graduation cap with, party supplies like balloons and cake toppers, and just about everything else an academically inclined Swiftie could want to commemorate the occasion.
As a '22 grad myself, I'll be stocking up on these *super cute* sweaters with an emblem of Meredith surrounded by the song lyrics "Happy, Free, Confused, and Lonely at the same time."
You Might Also Like
