Graduation Advice We Were Too Young to Appreciate

There is something delightfully ironic about commencement speeches. At the exact moment people are least interested in sitting still and listening, someone steps up to a podium and delivers a carefully crafted sermon about life, purpose, resilience, and possibility.

This year's graduation season has made that irony even more obvious. Several commencement speakers who drifted into advice about artificial intelligence, workplace disruption, or the uncertain future awaiting graduates were met with groans, eye rolls, and in some cases, outright boos. It's understandable. After years of hard work, no one wants to hear that the career you trained for may not even exist ten years from now.

When Something Started to Sound Weirdly Familiar

After spending more than a decade of my midlife career as a school administrator, I have heard all the soaring metaphors, the inspirational anecdotes, the encouragement to strive, and countless references to "journeys" and “purpose.” 

And then it dawned on me. At our age, we have much more in common with new grads than we may think. At 22, we're wondering what comes after college. At 62, we're wondering what comes after sticking the landing on career and home life. The details change, but the question remains remarkably consistent: What's next?

If there is any group of people standing on the edge of a wide-open, uncertain, exciting next chapter, it’s us. Women in later life are reinventing careers, leaving marriages, launching businesses, downsizing homes, traveling solo, dating again, relocating, caregiving, retiring, unretiring, or simply asking themselves big questions that are both thrilling and terrifying.

The Surprisingly Poignant Wisdom of Roger Federer 

Recently while researching a story about retirement reinvention, I stumbled across Roger Federer’s 2024 commencement address at Dartmouth College.

There he was, arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time, admitting that he, too, was figuring out his next steps. “Like you,” he told graduates, “I’m figuring out what that is.”

Honestly? That may be the most comforting thing any post-60 woman can hear, because somewhere along the line, society decided that older women are supposed to have arrived already. We’re expected to know exactly who we are, what we want, how to do Medicare enrollment without tearing out our hair, and what we should wear to stay stylish in the process.  

Many of us are not winding down. Instead, we are waking up to a wide-open landscape, and that’s exactly why commencement speeches suddenly resonate with us. When we listen through the lens of a woman entering her next act, the messages become surprisingly relevant. The themes are timeless: choose courage over comfort, remain curious, stay connected, expect setbacks, keep growing anyway.

Why “Yes…And” Feels Like the Perfect Midlife Philosophy 

In her 2012 address at Smith College, Jane Lynch spoke about the improvisational principle of “Yes…and.” The idea is simple: accept what life hands you and then build from it. Don’t, resist. Don’t deny. And definitely don’t spend years wishing things had gone differently.

“Yes…and.”

It feels like the perfect philosophy for later life. Yes, our lives may not look exactly as we imagined at 25…and maybe that’s not a tragedy. Maybe the divorce becomes freedom. Maybe the empty nest becomes possibility. Maybe the layoff becomes the business idea. Maybe the loss becomes the thing that finally teaches us how precious time really is. Lynch’s advice feels especially meaningful for women stepping into unfamiliar territory after decades spent taking care of everyone else first. 

Reinvention Requires a Little Foolishness 

Starting over requires a willingness to look foolish occasionally, which is unfortunate because many of us spent our 50s trying very hard not to.

Which brings us, naturally, to Steve Jobs and his legendary 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, which remains iconic for one enduring line: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

That line lands differently after 60, too.

Because being “foolish” at this age might mean signing up for the painting class, launching the Substack, wearing the sequined skirt, taking the solo trip, learning pickleball, falling in love again, or admitting you still want more from life.

And hunger? That’s not something to apologize for but instead is an invitation to become more curious, express, and daring than ever before. 

Maybe that’s why commencement speeches resonate now in a way they never did at 22. At this age, we understand that reinvention is not a straight line. We know failure is both inevitable and survivable. We appreciate the value of friendships, resilience, humor, and good habits around wearing sunscreen and making movement part of our daily routine. Mostly, we understand that possibility does not have an expiration date, and neither do we.

So perhaps we should start treating this chapter like our own private commencement ceremony–minus the polyester robes and ridiculous caps. 

That deserves a standing ovation.

A Few More Commencement Speeches Worth Revisiting 

• Kerry Washington — George Washington University, 2013

• Michelle Yeoh — Harvard Law School, 2023

• Melinda French Gates — Stanford University, 2024

Patty is the founder of The Brilliant Age, a lifestyle platform for women navigating later life and beyond with curiosity, style, and intention. Through thoughtful essays on reinvention, personal style, relationships, and purposeful living later in life, she encourages women to question outdated rules and design lives that feel vibrant and true. Patty also writes Spark 60, a weekly one-minute dose of inspiration delivered every Wednesday. Follow on Instagram and Facebook, and start living your most brilliant chapter yet.