Barbara Walters

Television journalist

At Yale's 2012 Class Day, Barbara Walters reassured graduates that most people, including herself, don't discover their passion early in life, and that their "bliss" will eventually find them. She shared lessons drawn from interviews with figures including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, the Dalai Lama, Margaret Thatcher, and Christopher Reeve, emphasizing choices, resilience after failure, and active participation in life. She closed with a personal family anecdote urging graduates to fully participate in their lives.

Key moments

01 Telling graduates not to fear if they haven't found their passion, as most people discover it later
02 Sharing Obama's reflection on unexpected career paths and Clinton's account of personal choices
03 Recounting the Dalai Lama's view that the purpose of life is happiness through compassion
04 Drawing on Thatcher's and her own experiences with failure, urging students to rise back
05 Sharing Christopher Reeve's perspective on facing hardship and her grandmother story to 'participate'

Transcript

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Provenance

Verified from official archive; targeted event-level link verified

Category: Journalism