By now most of the college graduations have come and gone. You (former) seniors have already thrown out that overpriced, hot (as in temperature, not sexy factor) gown; hung that tassel from your rear view mirror; and opened all those necessary-but-totally-boring (luggage? WTF?) gifts. And you’ve probably forgotten the important lessons shared with you by your influential speaker. Or you were too blacked out to pay much attention to them in the first place.

Well, don’t worry, my friends-who-are-now-joining-me-in-the-real-world; the Internet has got you covered. Here, in only 4 minutes and from the comfort of your very own bed (which you are undoubtedly lying in, crying, surrounded by the crumbs/shrapnel of depressed eating), is a little mashup of this year’s best graduation speeches. Maybe they’ll motivate you or inspire you. Or maybe they’ll just give you four minutes free of tears, fears and anxiety. Either way, enjoy. And congratulations!

(And for all you undergrads who can still call college home, you can enjoy this too. Along with another few years of college. Lucky bastards.)

A very big thanks to the Huffington Post for this rad vid.

If I can speak for most undergrads, we dread graduation day more than the apocalypse itself. It means leaving college and entering the real world, where it won’t be acceptable to beer bong in broad daylight on the roof of a frat house or blow off all your responsibilities to watch an entire season of the Office in bed.

Although the whole “graduating” thing sucks in theory, there’s always a lot of excitement surrounding the commencement speaker (or controversy, if you remember the whole Obama at Notre Dame debacle…). A good speaker can trick you into thinking this isn’t the worst day of your life inspire you to look ahead to the future and all the possibilities that lay ahead (if they’re a huge success, why can’t you be!?). And a bad speaker will allow you a good 45-minute power nap.

So who will be inspired come graduation day and who will be snoozing in their caps and gowns? Here is a list of some serious commencement speaker heavy hitters and the lucky seniors who get to listen to ‘em: Read More »