This is the second part of the commencement address Meredith Vieira delivered at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts on Sunday, May 18, 2008:
I grew up in Providence so I went home to my family home and I’m in my bedroom crying. My dad comes in and he says, “What’s the matter?” I told him and he said, “Well, do you think you have what it takes?” Even though I didn’t, I said, “Yeah. I think I do. And he said, “Why do you care what anybody’s going to say to you that would conflict with that feeling? You’re going to have naysayers, and I’ll tell you, you will throughout your life have people who will tell you not good enough. Maybe they’re jealous. Maybe they think you aren’t. Maybe they’ve had a bad day. But ultimately you have to believe in yourself.” Based on that pep talk or maybe serious PMS, I did go in that Monday. I basically pinned him to the wall. You know and I think back on it and I said, “I don’t care what you think. I am going to make it.” I might have freaked him out, but he gave me a second chance. Since then, we have become very good friends. But I did learn a lesson about believing in yourself.
After that I was sort of on a fast track. I went from Providence directly to New York City at WCBS television and then onto network news. Some of you are going to find yourselves with that same trajectory because of the kind of students that you are. You’re going to move very fast and you’ll find that there isn’t a lot of time to pause and reflect. And I would urge you to do that. Sometimes you get on this high speed train and you never stop to think, “Well, where am I going and who am I? What am I really doing?” That’s when you’re tested at your core. Probably my biggest test came with 60 Minutes that Larry referred to.
