When I started going to wars I had no clear goal in mind.There was no path that promised me success or job security.But I was listening really to myself and followed my pa ssion，a nd I"m more convinced than ever that if you do that，you will be successful.I"m not talking about rich-perhaps you will be-but you"ll be fulfilled，and that"s the greatest success you can have.
I always wince……I"m kind of rushing because I see the skies darkening，which frankly happens wherever I go，so if I whip out my rain slicker，you all are totally screwed.I always wince when someone says that college is the best four years of your life，because，frankly.For me it wasn"t.I hope it"s not for you either.Every year after college just gets better.Your confidence grows；you"re living the life that you"ve chosen.
It"s so interesting to me how real life has very little to do with what you"ve learned here，and yet，what you"ve learned here，what you"ve struggled to achieve，will help you.I can"t exactly say how：It"s not something that can necessarily be defined.When I first went to Somalia I was surrounded by teenagers with guns and grenade launchers，there was nothing particular that I"ve learned at Yale that allowed me to survive.When I was in Rwanda in the genocide and was surrounded by bodies and had seen terrible things，there was no one particular class that I"ve taken that helped me got through.And yet something about the experience here-the friendships，the accumulating of facts and theories，the confidence I gained over the course of four years-allowed me to go to those places and helped me chart my own course.
At Yale I met some of the smartest people I know but that kind of academic success really means very little once you"veleft this campus.I"ve never been asked what my grades were at Yale；that only happens if you run for president，and frankly，as we"ve all seen，it doesn"t even matter.No one has ever asked me to talk about my senior thesis paper and I"ve never gotten a job because I was on the lightweight crew team.Allthose things were hugely important to me at the time，but right now，in truth，they are kind of dim memories for me.And I"m not saying they"re frivolous or unimportant，they"re not，and I treasure all the opportunities I had here at Yale.
But when you graduate，the slate is wiped clean.Outside of college campuses，I think we"re encouraged today to see things through a very limited lens.On cable news，anchors have become caricatures，wearing their politics on their sleeves or their lapels，claiming that they"re looking out for you and if you only watch their show or read their book，you"ll be able to understand how things really are.It would be kind of humorous if it weren"t，frankly，dangerous.On reality TV shows you watch people swapping lives，but a genuine swapping of ideas is something you rarely see outside of the college campus.We"re fighting not just a war of terror but a war of ideas，and I think it"s important that as a class，we all understand the importance of understanding other people"s ideas，our enemies"as well as our friends".
I"m not very good at giving advice.We all know that"s Bill O"Reilly"s job and he does it very well.I actually Googled graduation speeches to see what kind of advice other people give at these kind of things，and believe me，they"re incredibly cheesy.Goldie Hawn told graduates at AU，and I quote，"while you are continuing to walk down that sometimesbumpy road of life，develop the a r t of laughter and joy.Keep in your backpack of treasures the whole you，the best you，the you that won"t fear failure."Yeah，think about it.Backpack of treasures.Very true.Yoko Ono gave a Commencement speech.（she didn"t sing it，she actually talked at it.）She said："I say you can"t stand if you"ve got too much muck in your head.Let it go，and dance through life."So true，so much muck，you know？Muck is a big problem.Of course.It"s easier to dance through life if you have a billion dollars，but I digress.
Since my mom gave me advice from television，I"m actually going to give you advice from a movie，because that"s the best I could come up with，frankly.It"s one of my favorite movies"：