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Students, teachers, parents, and esteemed guests, it is my pleasure to speak to you before you here today.
Your graduation is an important milestone in your life that will have profound implications. When you look back a decade or two from now, you will realize the potential you possessed and the opportunities that stood before you here today.
As the sun shines, I could congratulate you and tell you that you will all succeed and have extraordinarily bright futures. But that would be a lie.
As I stand in front of you, I do see incredibly diverse futures. Some of you will make choices that land you in prison, nearly 1%. I see those who will underlive their potential and grind out an existence through a series of odd jobs, one step from disaster, roughly 16%. A good portion of you will live in your parent’s basement at some point.
Some of you will be dead in a few years’ time. Around 10% of you will develop addictions, nearly 30% will end up in abusive relationships or become trapped with children well before you are mentally and financially prepared.
Not all of you will be astronauts, Nobel Prize winners, or leaders in your chosen field. Of those who choose to attend college, 40% won’t graduate. 37% of those who graduate college will end up with more than $100k in…
