Taylor Swift to NYU grads: ‘My mistakes lead to the best things in my life’

nypost.com:

Taylor Swift made New York University’s 2022 commencement ceremony the hottest ticket in town on Wednesday when she rocked the podium at Yankee Stadium to address the graduating class.The 32-year-old singer-songwriter was the guest of honor wearing a purple robe and black velvet cap punctuated with her signature red lip, accepting an honorary fine arts doctorate and sharing 20 minutes of pop-star wisdom. “Let me just say: Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you,” Swift kicked off the address with a smirk and lyrics from her 2014 hit, joking that the last time she was in a stadium “this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard.” “I’m … 90% sure the main reason I’m here is because I have a song called ‘22,’” she quipped, lamenting on how she “never got the normal college experience, per se,” though she did film her music video “Love Story” in a college dorm. “But I really can’t complain … because you went to NYU during a global pandemic,” she said.Then Swift gave some earnest advice about letting go of grudges, exes and any toxic relationship to make room for the new chapters while learning to “live alongside cringe.” (Jake Gyllenhaal might question how successfully Swift has done this in her own life.) “No matter how hard you try to avoid being cringe, you will look back on your life and cringe retrospectively.

You can’t avoid it so don’t try to,” she said, noting a phase in 2012 when she “dressed like a 1950s housewife.” “I was having fun,” she said. “Looking back and laughing is fun … I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things … You have to listen to me when I say this: Never be ashamed of trying,” she advised.