Celebrity Gives Prospective College Students Something to Think About at Graduation

What better gift to get on your graduation day than to hear the advice of a celebrity?

Warren Easton Charter High School’s graduating class got to experience just that, when actress Sandra Bullock dropped by for a surprise visit and short speech on May 19th.

In her brief address, Bullock gives advice that sheds light on her comedic style, such as “do not pick your nose in public,” and “if someone doesn’t want to play with you, it’s ok.”

But while news stories harp on Bullock’s suggestions to use a tissue and to find someone who does want to play with us, she offers more valuable tidbits about how to live life after high school, during college, and beyond:

• Stop worrying so much, about the future, the unknown. You won’t remember any of the points in your life when you worried; you won’t get that time back

• Raise the bar higher; when people want to see you fail, that’s their problem

• Nothing is a failure; things will work out in another way if they don’t work out the way you wanted them to

• Dance before you step out into the world; it changes the way you walk

• When someone who cares about you hugs you, don’t give them the “one armed hug.” Hug them with two arms; when you hug with two arms, it allows you to lean on somebody, and we always need someone to lean on

• Go find your joy; are you going to have a good day, or are you going to have a great day? It’s completely up to you

Robert Enyatten, an English instructor at Warren Easton Charter High School, says that Bullock left a positive impression on the 2014 grads.

“Miss Bullock has been a tremendous contributor to the advancing of college opportunities available to our students,” he says. “[From her speech] Students took away her love for them and her appreciation of what they are capable of accomplishing when given the opportunity.”