Sandra Bullock Delivers Surprise Commencement Speech

Sandra Bullock Delivers Surprise Commencement Speech

photo: AP

Sandra Bullock surprised the graduating class of Warren Easton Charter High School in New Orleans with a commencement speech this weekend.

The 49-year-old Academy Award-winning actress has been a supporter of the high school since 2005, when it was closed for a year following Hurricane Katrina. It is the oldest public high school in New Orleans.

sandra-bullock
photo: WLTV.com

The unsuspecting students were showered by advice from the actress, ranging from serious to silly, including a reminder to not pick their noses in public.

“If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what would you say?” she began. “I wished someone had said to me what I’ve been spending the last four years telling a little boy, who I love more than anything, who happens to be my son.”

Bullock adopted son Louis Bardo Bullock.

“So I thought, ‘Maybe I will share that with you guys, that what I tell a 4-year-old is what I wish someone had told me before I stepped out into the world.”

“Stop being scared of the unknown, because anything I worried about didn’t happen. Other stuff happened. The unknown we can’t do anything about,” she continued.

She also shared a ritual she practices with her son: “We turn on the music really, really loud before we leave the house. The rule is: You have to dance a little bit before you step out in the world, because it changes the way you walk.”

Other advice included:

  • “Eat something green every day with every meal.”
  • Do not pick your nose in public.”
  • “If someone doesn’t want to play with you, it’s okay. It’s okay. Not everyone is going to love us; go find someone who does want to play with you and who appreciates what you have to offer.”

She concluded by advising the students to find their joy in life.

“It’s what you’re going to remember in the end,” she said. “It’s not the worry. It’s not the what-ifs. It’s the joy that stays with you.”

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