“I’m 90 percent sure the reason I’m here is because I have a song called ‘22,'” Swift joked in her speech.
Welcome to New York (University), it’s been waiting for you (Taylor Swift).
The 11-time Grammy winner delivered a commencement speech to NYU grads and received an honorary degree at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Swift blew kisses and waved as she made her way to the stage among other honorary doctorates, which prompted roaring applause from the stadium.
“Hi, I’m Taylor,” she said when addressing the crowd after receiving her honorary degree. “Last time I was in a stadium this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard. This outfit is much more comfortable.”
She went on to joke about why she was likely selected by NYU to receive the honor this year. “I’m 90 percent sure the reason I’m here is because I have a song called ’22,'” she said, adding that she was elated to celebrate the graduating class.
When the pop star was announced as both a degree recipient and speaker in March, Swifties went into a frenzy. Many haggled NYU students for tickets to the event, NBC New York reported, and offered them money to get a ticket to graduation.
Each student gets two commencement tickets, according to the university, which also has a policy in place that bans students from selling or auctioning off their commencement tickets.
Swift’s commencement speech came the same year she was part of the NYU curriculum. The university’s Clive Davis Institute held its first-ever course all about the artist, taught by Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos.
“nyu commencement ceremony (taylor’s version),” Spanos tweeted from Yankee Stadium.
Spanos wasn’t the only one tweeting from the commencement, which New York Times wrote in a recent headline may be “the Hottest Ticket in Town?”
“that moment when you were born a swiftie and your best friend just happens to graduate from NYU on the same day as Taylor Swift so you get one of her two guest tickets,” one user wrote in a tweet.
“Congratulations to all the NYU graduates and especially @taylorswift13, I am so proud to be able to support you guys live from yankee stadium and it’s an absolute honour that I get to be here today!” wrote another user.
Before the commencement kicked off, Swift also shared her excitement about the day. She posted video of herself getting ready on Instagram.
“Wearing a cap and gown for the very first time,” she wrote.
During her speech, Swift offered some advice to the graduating class of 2022, what she described as “life hacks.”
She advised the graduates to only carry the things in life you need.
“You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning,’ she said.
Next, she suggested that people learn to live with “cringe.”
“No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe, retrospectively … even the term cringe might some day be deemed, ‘cringe,'” she said.
She went on to say that effortlessness is a myth and the people who “want it the most” are the only ones she wants working for her.
As her speech drew to a close, Swift reminded students that they didn’t need to be perfect. She told them that they will all make mistakes.
“We are led by our gut instincts … and you will screw it up sometimes, and so will I … we will breathe in, breathe though, breathe deep and breathe out,” she said. “And I am a doctor now, so I know how breathing works.”
