【正文】 ng my baby’s firstswim lesson. If I am at my daughter’s debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh’slast scene ever being filmed at Grey’s Anatomy. If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitablyfailing at the other. That is the tradeoff. That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devilthat es with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother. You never feela hundred percent OK。 you never get your sea legs。 you are always a little is always lost.
　　Something is always missing.
　　And yet. I want my daughters to see me and know me as a woman who works. I want thatexample set for them. I like how proud they are when they e to my offices and know thatthey e to Shondaland. There is a land and it is named after their mother. In their world,mothers run panies. In their world, mothers own Thursday nights. In their world, motherswork. And I am a better mother for it. The woman I am because I get to run Shondaland,because I get write all day, because I get to spend my days making things up, that woman is abetter person—and a better mother. Because that woman is happy. That woman is woman is whole. I wouldn’t want them to know the me who didn’t get to do this all daylong. I wouldn’t want them to know the me who wasn’t doing.
　　Lesson Number Three is that anyone who tells you they are doing it all perfectly is a liar.
　　OK.
　　I fear I’ve scared you or been a little bit bleak, and that was not my intention. It is my hopethat you run out of here, excited, leaning forward, into the wind, ready to take the world bystorm. That would be so very fabulous. For you to do what everyone expects of you. For you tojust go be exactly the picture of hardcore Dartmouth awesome.
　　My point, I think, is that it is OK if you don’t. My point is that it can be scary to graduate. Thatyou can lie on the hardwood floor of your dorm room and cry while your mom packs up yourstuff. That you can have an impossible dream to be Toni Morrison that you have to let go every day you can feel like you might be failing at work or at your home life. That the realworld is hard.
　　And yet, you can still wake up every single morning and go, amp。quot。I have three amazing kids and Ihave created work I am proud of, and I absolutely love my life and I would not trade it foranyone else’s life ever.amp。quot。
　　You can still wake up one day and find yourself living a life you never even imagined dreamingof.
　　My dreams did not e true. But I worked really hard. And I ended up building an empire outof my imagination. So my dreams? Can suck it.
　　You can wake up one day and find that you are interesting and powerful and engaged. You canwake up one day and find that you are a doer.
　　You can be sitting right where you are now. Looking up at me. Probably—hopefully, I pray foryou—hung over. And then 20 years from now, you can wake up and find yourself in the HanoverInn full of fear and terror because you are going to give the Commencement speech. Drymouth. Heart beats so, so fast. Everything in slow motion. Pass out, die, poop.
　　Which one of you will it be? Which member of the 2020 class is going to find themselvesstanding up here? Because I checked and it is pretty rare for an alum to speak here. It’s prettymuch just me and Robert Frost and Mr. Rogers, which is crazy awesome.
　　Which one of you is going to make it up here? I really hope that it’s one of you. Seriously.
　　When it happens, you’ll know what this feels like.
　　Dry mouth. Heart beats so, so fast. Everything moves in slow motion.
　　Graduates, every single one of you, be proud of your acplishments. Make good on yourdiplomas.
　　You are no longer students. You are no longer works in progress. You are now citizens of thereal world. You have a responsibility to bee a person worthy of joining and contributing tosociety. Because who you are today ... that’s who you are.
　　So be brave.
　　Be amazing.
　　Be worthy.
　　And every single time you get a chance?
　　Stand up in front of people.
　　Let them see you. Speak. Be heard.
　　Go ahead and have the dry mouth.
　　Let your heart beat so, so fast.
　　Watch everything move in slow motion.
　　So what?
　　You what?
　　You pass out, you die, you poop?
　　No.
　　And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know...
　　You take it in.
　　You breathe this rare air.
　　You feel alive.
　　You be yourself.
　　You truly finally always be yourself.
　　Thank you. Good luck