I hate graduation ceremony speeches. I feel like they are all the same thing.

They leave you with a false sense of hope — hope is beautiful do not get me wrong — but it doesn’t prepare you for being an adult. I

I'm a very hopeful person but the first year out of college will make you feel like a baby horse trying to walk for the first time constantly falling and then when you think you have your balance you are pushed down again by life.

So, about college me — I was never a “party girl”, sororities scared me, I would just occasionally get drunk with my best friend in my apartment, I was a hermit I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’m the girl in class you notice, but she's quiet at first, but once I start talking I have something to say worth listening to.

I went to college to study to get the piece of paper for my parents at first. But along my journey, I realized how important this piece of paper is.

My real dream is to be an actress. I hated school, I felt like a caged bird.

My parents told me I needed this, they never had the opportunity and going to college is a huge deal, I know that and I respect it.

They are right knowledge is power. So thank you for not letting me drop out to move to California to wait tables.

Life is hard. That is not news.

But first,

“What are you going to do when you graduate from school?”

People are obsessed with this question!!

We live in a society that judges you based on the career you obtain.

Graduating from college is such an accomplishment, so first let’s take that in for a moment, congratulations for sitting here today.

I’m not here to tell you to “not to be sad” and “one chapter closes another one opens” I will save those clichés for the other speeches.

I’m not going to tell you that this after college life is going to be easy because it’s not, so yes enjoy today, enjoy this moment, celebrate what you have done here —

but I’m here to tell you that the work doesn’t end here, it’s just starting,

Success. It’s a funny word because everyone in here will probably define it in a different way.

Whatever the way you personally define it, not the university, not your professor, how YOU define success — use it as your motivation to keep going when you feel like you can’t. Because there will be moments that happen in you life that you will want to give up. Don’t.

There isn’t a wrong definition for success.

For some success is walking across this stage today, others it’s working at Google or any big name company, some it’s getting married having a family, the list goes on and on. All of the reasons are beautiful and valid.

If you have passion, faith and perseverance and are willing to put in the work to get to where you need to be, that success is going to happen for you.

But if you don’t work for it, guess what? It’s not going to happen.

You are going to get rejected, grow a tough skin if you haven’t. You will feel down and depressed — you won't get your dream job at first.

Don’t let your pride get in the way. You may have to take another internship before landing that full-time job, you may have to take a job you hate to make connections for a future job, you will have to make sacrifices when you leave here.

You will go on interviews and people will tell you that you aren’t good enough, that you don’t have the experience, they will try to intimidate you as well.

Never let anyone dictate your worth or your skills based on their sole findings of what they define as successful.

I wrote an article recently and I really still believe these words I wrote:

Our college education system is majorly broken. The fear of failure is instilled in our minds from the very beginning of our academic careers. But failure is one of life’s greatest gifts.

I’ve failed, and it taught me what I did and did not want. Never be afraid of failing.

Yes, I personally have failed. From failing a course, failing friendships, to relationships. Failure is the best teacher if we are willing to listen, learn, and proceed forward. Never, ever, EVER be afraid of failing.

When you leave college, there is no “withdrawal” or “drop this course” button in real life,

True success, true greatness, true love only ever comes from learning from our mistakes.

So, let me tell you what this college experience made me understand, in a generation of “instant and now”, amidst the college papers, the emotional drama, the breakdowns, the all-nighters in the library, this is what I have learned and experienced, do not forget the Stars in Your Eyes:

There is an epidemic in this generation and it’s called settling. 
 Settling for less in love, in passions, in life.
 Believing that settling leads to happiness. 
 We say that expectations lead to disappointment 
 so if we don’t expect, we can’t be sad -
 and if we aren’t sad than we must be happy,
 but if we aren’t sad or happy, and just settling,
 seems that we are numb-
 We are always avoiding feelings and emotions — when we need to learn to be present and truthful. 
 And if only you could only see yourself through someone else’s eyes — you would dream — search for planets unaware and dance with the sun, love with the moon.
 But just existing day in and day out, 
 allowing society to dictate what a path of an adult should look like, 
 what success looks like, 
 the steps to get there -
 the sooner we realize that happiness is within your soul and your mind. 
 It’s in the actions we do, 
 that our hearts are like rosebuds — 
 waiting to bloom, it has to be the right temperate, the right temperature, we need to be nurtured.
 Not just drowned in water and sunlight hoping that we bloom, 
 our hearts need to be understood, once you know how a rose can bud, you can know how my heart will open.
 And maybe you read this and wonder what happened to the stars that were in your eyes, 
 You went through some event and it took parts of your soul with it,
 I’m sorry for that, I’m sorry for whatever hardship you have or had to endure,

The stars are still there, go ahead look in the mirror — and say:

“I’m beautiful.”
 Don’t settle for darkness, you are the light that keeps going.

With this, you need to define yourself more than the piece of paper in your hand, more than the failures you will endure, more than the success you will achieve. We don’t give ourselves enough credit, we are always putting ourselves down. You need to realize life needs to be lived, so go out and live it — having a job is only one part of who you are. There is so much that makes us human, that makes us alive.

So go out, fail, sacrifice, live, laugh, dream and make your definition of success come true.

Congratulations to The Graduating Class of 2015.