On the other hand, my other son, Hunter, who heads the World Food Program USA, graduated from Yale Law School. (Applause.) Now, he thought it’s a great idea. But then again, law graduates always think all of their ideas are great ideas. (Laughter.)
By the way, I’ve had a lot of law graduates from Yale work for me. That's not too far from the truth. But anyway, look, the truth of the matter is that I have a lot of staff that are Yale graduates, several are with me today. They thought it was a great idea that I speak here.
As a matter of fact, my former national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, who is teaching here at Yale Law School, trained in international relations at Yale College, edited the Yale Daily News, and graduated from Harvard -- excuse me, Freudian slip -- Yale Law School. (Laughter.) You’re lucky to have him. He’s a brilliant and decent and honorable man. And I miss him. And we miss him as my national security advisor.
But he’s not the only one. My deputy national security advisor, Jeff Prescott, started and ran the China Law Center at Yale Law School. My Middle East policy advisor and foreign policy speechwriter, Dan Benaim, who is with me, took Daily Themes -— got a B. (Laughter.) Now you know why I go off script so much. (Laughter and applause.)
the more you're thinking back to those original goals, the easier it is for you to get back up and say, "Alright, it might be difficult, it might be painful, it might be stressful, there might be no people that believe in me, but I believe in myself."
You know it might have been the case that you should have gone through that harsh break up, that you should have gone through that heavy loss, just in order to find something even better.
But the only way to get to that even better, is to get back up and work. To get back up and put yourself out there again. And arise from that again, stronger, better, smarter, ready to grasp that new opportunity.
You gotta believe the tables in your life will turn. That pain will become power, that weakness will become strength, and that confusion will become peace. Better things are coming for your life.
Everyday is a new beginning. It's time for you to start treating it that way.
you -- you’re on the cusp of some of the most astonishing breakthroughs in the history of mankind -— scientific, technological, socially —- that’s going to change the way you live and the whole world works. But it will be up to you in this changing world to translate those unprecedented capabilities into a greater measure of happiness and meaning -— not just for yourself, but for the world around you.
And I feel more confident for my children and grandchildren knowing that the men and women who graduate here today, here and across the country, will be in their midst. That’s the honest truth. That's the God’s truth. That's my word as a Biden.
Congratulations, Class of 20xx. And may God bless you and may God protect our troops. Thank you.
In all seriousness, the board back then made an inspiring decision to choose Washington. And anyone who thinks this school is in D.C. or near Seattle clearly hasn’t been paying attention.
It seems fitting that an institution named for Washington has played such an important role in presidential elections in recent decades. WashU has hosted a number of nationally televised debates, including the last one you saw in 20xx.
Hosting a presidential debate is an experience that few schools or students get. But I can’t stand here and tell you it provided a great civics lesson. I wish I could.
Instead of focusing on the critical issues facing the country, that debate was more about locker room talk and ‘lock her up.’ Lincoln-Douglas, I think it’s fair to say, it was not.
And that brings me to the topic du jour. It would be easy to blame the candidates or the moderators for the poor quality of that debate. But the problem runs much deeper.
I’ve been lucky. And my wish for all of you is that not only tomorrow, but 20 and 40 and 50 years from now, you’ve found that sweet spot, that thing that allows you to get up in the morning, put both feet on the floor, go out and pursue what you love, and think it still matters.
Some of you will go to Silicon Valley and make great contributions to empower individuals and societies and maybe even design a life-changing app, like how to unsubscribe to Obama for America email list -- (laughter) -- the biggest “pan-list” of all times.
Some of you will go to Wall Street and big Wall Street law firms, government and activism, Peace Corps, Teach for America. You’ll become doctors, researchers, journalists, artists, actors, musicians. Two of you -— one of whom was one of my former interns in the White House, Sam Cohen, and Andrew Heymann —- will be commissioned in the United States Navy. Congratulations, gentlemen. We're proud of you. (Applause.)
But all of you have one thing in common you will all seek to find that sweet spot that satisfies your ambition and success and happiness.
I’ve met an awful lot of people in my career. And I’ve noticed one thing, those who are the most successful and the happiest -- whether they’re working on Wall Street or Main Street, as a doctor or nurse, or as a lawyer, or a social worker, I’ve made certain basic observation about the ones who from my observation wherever they were in the world were able to find that sweet spot between success and happiness. Those who balance life and career, who find purpose and fulfillment, and where ambition leads them.
The world right now is in the middle of a mental health crisis.
It’s estimated almost half the population suffers from depression at some stage throughout their life.
Rather than join the cue, it’s important we it’s learn why we get down, and then how we can change it, because believe it or not, we create our own negative feelings and we can also ensure that we turn our lives around and be a positive change for others.
The reason anyone gets depressed always comes down to the CONSISTENT thoughts we think, and the CONSISTENT beliefs we hold.
Sometimes it takes things falling apart, for better things to fall into place. Sometimes it takes the most uncomfortable path, to lead your life to the most beautiful place. There's gonna be bad days, there's gonna be dark days, but you've gotta embrace it.
Because that pain is what makes you stronger. Failure is what makes you stronger.
You have to accept those down times, because once you realize those down times, are just as much part of life as anything else, you're able to strive again.
You'll never see the purpose of the storm, until you see the growth it produced. You'll never understand why you went through what you went through, until you see the strength, the power, the resilience that it built inside of you. Ask yourself why.
But this why is a better why, "Why am I doing this? Why am I failing? Why am I even getting myself in a situation where I could fail? Because I have a dream. Because I have goals."
Let me say that again.
The reason anyone gets depressed always comes down to the CONSISTENT thoughts we think, and the CONSISTENT beliefs we hold.
If I believe I am fat, horrible, ugly and unworthy of love, I will most likely become depressed or have depression thoughts
If my thought process is “I must be in a relationship and earn X amount to be happy” I might get depression if I don’t achieve those goals.
The point here is that anyone that is depressed, is so, because there is an external factor that didn’t materialize in their life – i.e…. (They have lost something outside of their control, or don’t have something that is out of their control) the most common reasons for depression are : a lost a job, relationship break downs or non existence, body image, comparison to others.
The only way out of this is to work on yourself, every day.
In school we are taught how to get a job, but no one teaches us how to live in a state of happiness. No one teaches us how important our conscious and unconscious thoughts and associations are.
Is our happiness not worth more than a job?
Yes it is.
And before you say, happiness won’t pay my bills – happiness WILL pay your bills, when you realize you will be 10 times more energized, focused and take positive action in your life, when you FIRST choose to develop yourself as a priority, and THEN get to all the “stuff” of the world.
I’m so happy to be here on your day and all of your day. It’s good to know there’s one Yalie who is happy I’m being here -- be here, at least one. (Laughter.) On “Overheard at Yale,” on the Facebook page, one student reported another student saying: I had a dream that I was Vice President and was with the President, and we did the disco funk dance to convince the Congress to restart the government. (Laughter.)
Another student commented, Y’all know Biden would be hilarious, get funky. (Laughter.)
Well, my granddaughter, Finnegan Biden, whose dad went here, is with me today. When she saw that on the speech, I was on the plane, Air Force Two coming up, she said, Pop, it would take a lot more than you and the President doing the disco funk dance. The Tea Party doesn't even know what it is. (Laughter.)
Look, I don't know about that. But I’m just glad there’s someone -- just someone -- who dreams of being Vice President. (Laughter and applause.) Just somebody. I never had that dream. (Laughter.) For the press out there, that's a joke.
I want you to know that, no matter where you are in life… No matter how low you have sunk… No matter how bleak your situation… This is NOT THE END.
This is not the end of your story
This is not the final chapter of your life.
I know it may be hard right now
But if you just hang in there
Stick it out
Stay with me for a little while…
You will find, that this tough moment will pass, and, if you are committed to USING this pain, using it to build your character, finding a greater MEANING for the pain, you will find that, in time, you can turn your life around, and help others going through the same struggles.
For your generation, there’s an incredible amount of pressure on all of you to succeed, particularly now that you have accomplished so much. You’re whole generation faces this pressure. I see it in my grandchildren who are honors students at other Ivy universities right now. You race to do what others think is right in high school. You raced through the bloodsport of college admissions. You raced through Yale for the next big thing. And all along, some of you compare yourself to the success of your peers on Facebook, Instagram, Linked-In, Twitter.
Today, some of you may have found that you slipped into the self-referential bubble that validates certain choices. And the bubble expands once you leave this campus, the pressures and anxiousness, as well -- take this job, make that much money, live in this place, hang out with people like you, take no real risks and have no real impact, while getting paid for the false sense of both.
But resist that temptation to rationalize what others view is the right choice for you -— instead of what you feel in your gut is the right choice —- that’s your North Star. Trust it. Follow it. You're an incredible group of young women and men. And that's not hyperbole. You're an incredible group.
The good news is the way to clean up the pollution can be found in [the] three words written on the cover of your diploma. It’s the motto of this great university: ‘Per Veritatem Vis’ (strength through truth). And it’s a motto that fits perfectly with a university named for George Washington.
In 1794, during President Washington’s second term, there was a faction ginning up support for secession. Washington recognized the threat it was…threat it posed – and he was confident that it would not succeed. He wrote in a letter, and I quote, ‘It is not difficult by concealment of some facts, and exaggeration of others to bias a well-meaning mind, at least for a while.’
But, he continued, ‘Truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.’
Now, I know the phrase ‘pains is taken’ probably just horrified every English major here. As kids, we were taught that Washington never told a lie, but they never told us he had trouble with subject-verb agreements.