As May rolls into June, we see one commencement speech after another. Colleges and universities invite guest speakers to send their graduates off with a hopeful message, great life wisdom, or a healthy dose of humor. Some commencement addresses are gold and flowing, while others come out like walking barefoot across broken glass. One of the most memorable addresses was a Michael Keaton graduation speech at Kent State University in 2018.
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Michael Keaton’s graduation speech was around 18 minutes long, but most people only remember the last two words. You can watch the entire speech below. He began by speaking about his failure to graduate from college. Keaton dropped out of Kent State University to pursue his acting career and never looked back. He expressed how happy he was to return to his alma mater.
Continuing, he discussed being true to yourself, telling the graduates, “Always live in your real self, because the absolute freedom of not worrying about what other people think is indescribable and worth all the effort that you put into it.”
After finishing, the university honored him with an award as a thank-you for speaking. He turned away from the podium but quickly returned to the microphone to utter two more words. Michael Keaton’s graduation speech was 18 minutes of life advice, and those last two words tied everything together.
“I’m Batman.”
The meaning conveyed in those two final words can be varied. “I’m Batman” signifies that following your dreams can work for you. “I’m Batman” means you can be anything you want to be. The words emphasize that being true to yourself should be a part of all your life goals. Those final words seemed to say, “Go forth and be Batman!“
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