Robert De Niro's Speech to NYU Graduates

Robert De Niro is by far one of my favorite actors. Since his first brilliant performance as Johnny Boy Civello in Mean Streets, De Niro has been one of America's greatest thespians.

The 71-year-old icon was recently invited to give a commencement speech to the 2015 class at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and delivered a heavy dose of reality to students. "Tisch graduates, you made it," he began. Then, with a pause, he continued: "And, you're f*cked."

The actor splashed his humor throughout the entire speech, but his underlying message was simple. He told the graduates, "On this day of triumphantly graduating, a new door is opening for you: a door to a lifetime of rejection. It's inevitable. It's what graduates call the real world."

Graduation speeches could often get boring. A lot of schools choose speakers who are unlikely to encourage, inspire, or provide advice that will be remembered after the post-graduation parties. I remember my own college graduation. The speaker was some former dean and politician whose speech was boring as hell. Just when you think you're done with lectures, here's some old dude talking to you about how to run your life.

But some still do it right: short, entertaining, memorable, inspiring.

"Rejection might sting, but my feeling is that often, it has very little to do with you," De Niro added. "When you’re auditioning or pitching, the director or producer or investor may have someone different in mind, that’s just how it is."

Comments

Brett Kern fuses 80's pop culture icons into Hellenistic sculptures

Brett Kern is best known for making ceramic art pieces that deceptively look like inflatable toys . But over the course of the last few months, the West Virginia-based clay master and professor have been working hard at finishing a new series of sculptures. The series is based on 80's pop culture characters and inspired by the Hellenistic period. In this set, you'll find everything from a drunken E.T. (a recreation of the The Barberini Faun ) to a Rafael/ The Dying Gaul mashup. Perhaps my favorite of the bunch (pictured below) is ALF Strangling Cat , which is based on the Greek original Boy Strangling Goose . "I am choosing characters that I sympathize with in some capacity," Brett was quoted as saying by Nerdist.com . "When I used to play Ninja Turtles, I pretended to be Rafael because he was the badass rebel that didn't want to listen to anyone else. Fittingly, my older brother was Leonardo and we clashed often." Br...

Mark Poulier's Leaning Tower of Coffee Cups

Some people like to ruin their coffee with things like milk and sugar, others want their coffee black. But Australian artist Mark Poulier seems to be enjoying his morning brew with a lot of ink and a little imagination. Mark specializes in drawing architecture, but recently, he's been experimenting with coffee cup art. I really like his Leaning Tower of Coffee Cups. Intricately detailed, stacked and leaned properly — the paper cups look just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. To see more awesomeness from Mark, be sure to check him out on Instagram . [h/t: Foodiggity ]

Dealing with Job Rejection

Rejection takes many forms: The varsity team, Tinder, the credit card, the university, the girl next door, Google AdSense, the job. Growing up, I never wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to be a pilot, or a shipmaster, like Captain Nemo. And then in my second year of college, I decided I wanted to be in public relations. After graduation, I applied to seven PR firms in Manila and got seven rejection emails. The job seemed perfect. The interviews went smooth. I was optimistic. But, they hired someone else. Being rejected after a job application can seriously break your self confidence and morale. I was devastated when I got turned down too many times, and I became depressed, angry and quite difficult to live with. However, I realized that wallowing in misery and regret will never help. So I took a step back, analyzed my job search strategy and determined my flaws. Have you been rejected recently? Cheer up! Just because someone says no today doesn't mean it'...

finding cain

Search This Blog