Here’s What Taylor Swift Said During Her NYU Graduation Speech

19 May 2022, 10:55

By Capital FM

@CapitalOfficial

Taylor Swift delivered an iconic speech as she accepted her honorary doctorate from NYU.

Taylor Swift made history yesterday as she received an honorary doctorate of fine arts degree from NYU.

The 32-year-old looked super proud on her special day as she prepared to receive the honorary degree.

When she finally got on stage to accept her doctorate, Taylor delivered the most heartwarming speech to match just how special the day was.

Taylor Swift Couldn't Be Prouder To Receive Honorary Doctorate From NYU

In case you missed the magical moment, here’s exactly what Tay said during her emotional speech…

The ‘Folklore’ songstress began by saying: “Hi, I'm Taylor. Last time I was in a stadium this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard. This outfit is much more comfortable,” before going on to thank everyone who made the day possible.

Taylor Swift enjoys trip to NYC in TikTok clip

She went on: “I'm 90% sure the main reason I'm here is because I have a song called ’22’,” before going on to pay tribute to everyone that helped paved the way for graduates, adding: “Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that. Someone read stories to you and taught you to dream and offered up some moral code of right and wrong for you to try and live by. Someone tried their best to explain every concept in this insanely complex world to the child that was you."

Tay went on to thank her parents and brother ‘for the sacrifices they made every day, so I could go from singing in coffee houses to standing up here with you all today’, adding that ‘no words would ever be enough’.

She then joked: “I’d like to thank NYU for making me technically, on paper at least, a doctor. Not the type of doctor you would want around in 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."

“I never got to have a normal college experience per see," Tay continued, "I went to public high school until 10th grade and then finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals. Then I went out on the road for radio tour, which sounds incredibly glamorous, but in reality it consisted of a rental car, motels and my mom and I pretending to have loud mother-daughter fights with each other during boarding so no one would want the empty seat between us on Southwest.”

The Cats actress then went on to advise her audience on some ‘life hacks’, telling everyone: “You can't carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go. Oftentimes, the good things in your life are lighter anyway. So there's more room for them. One toxic relationship can outweigh so many wonderful, simple joys. You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning."

She then told people to live alongside the ‘cringe’, adding: “No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively. Cringe is unavoidable over a lifetime, even the term "cringe" might someday be deemed cringe. I promise you.

The '1989' hitmaker went on to add that people being critical of her over the years and ‘being publicly humiliated over and over again a young age was excruciatingly painful’, but taught her about herself, adding: “Getting canceled on the internet and nearly losing my career gave me an excellent knowledge of all the types of wine.”

Tay wrapped her speech by saying: “We're doing this together. So let's just keep dancing like we're the Class of '22’.”

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