The following address was delivered by Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, at the USC Marshall Undergraduate

Commencement Ceremony on May 15, 2015.

Dean Ellis, honored guests, faculty, family, friends, and the Class of 2015:
I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your generosity. Thank you so much for inviting me to
join you in celebrating your graduation day! Three years ago I could never have comprehended such
an opportunity. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
About three years ago today I was right where you are. I was sitting in a folding chair, just like that
one, wearing my cap and gown, waiting to walk on stage. But I wasnt graduating. When they shook
my hand and took my picture, they handed me an empty folder. You see at Stanford they let you
walk through graduation even if you havent actually finished the requirements necessary to
receive your diploma. You get to pretend you are graduating just like everyone else, even though you
arent.
The University had created this alternative for students who were using the summer term to finish
up their degrees. I was using it because I was embarrassed, and I didnt want to be left out of the
celebration. What was I going to do? Stay in my dorm room while all of my friends processed into
the stadium and tossed their caps into the air without me?
So I sat in the hot sun and listened to Cory Booker speak for what felt like quite a while, and I
waved to my family who had traveled all the way to watch me not graduate.
By the way, hi Mom!
It only recently occurred to me, while preparing this address, how totally absurd this whole charade
was. It reminded me that oftentimes we do all sorts of silly things to avoid appearing different.
Conforming happens so naturally that we can forget how powerful it is we want to be accepted by
our peers we want to be a part of the group. Its in our biology. But the things that make us
human are those times we listen to the whispers of our soul and allow ourselves to be pulled in
another direction.
Conformity is so fascinating and so pervasive that it has been studied for a very long time. It turns
out there are two things that can dramatically reduce conformity in a group setting. The first is a
single dissenting voice. The second is the ability to communicate privately with other members of
the group.
Our government gives us the right to privacy and the right to express ourselves freely in the hope
that we might mitigate conformity. Democracy wasnt designed to promote popular thought. It was
architected to protect dissent.
For, as President Kennedy said, Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

I recently fell in love with a story about a great piece of American art.
Its about Bob Rauschenberg. When he was a young artist, he went to visit his idol Bill de Kooning.
He was terribly nervous, clutching a bottle of Jack Daniels, for liquid courage, because he wasnt just
visiting. He was there to ask de Kooning for one of his drawings.
Bill de Kooning knew just what he was up to Rauschenberg had recently been experimenting with
his own work. He had been creating paintings and then erasing them. But that wasnt enough. He
didnt want to erase his own work, he wanted to erase the work of his hero.
So de Kooning obliged but he took his time, torturing the young artist as he wandered around the
studio selecting a piece. He wanted to find a piece that he really loved. As he thumbed through his
portfolios, he found one that was particularly hard to erase, comprised of layers of lead and charcoal.
He gave it to Rauschenberg.
According to Bob, it took nearly two months to erase the drawing.
It was Jasper Johns who framed the drawing and gave it a title, Erased de Kooning by Bob
Rauschenberg. It was Jasper Johns who recognized that in the process of erasing de Koonings
drawing, Rauschenberg had in fact created something new, his own work of art.
I love this story because Bill de Kooning had the humility to recognize that the greatest thing we can
do is provide the best possible foundation for those who come after us. We must welcome our own
erasure.
Im asked one question most often: Why didnt you sell your business? It doesnt even make
money. Its a fad. You could be on a boat right now. Everyone loves boats. Whats wrong with
you?
I am now convinced that the fastest way to figure out if you are doing something truly important to
you is to have someone offer you a bunch of money to part with it.
The best thing is that no matter whether or not you sell, you will learn something very valuable
about yourself. If you sell, you will know immediately that it wasnt the right dream anyways. And if
you dont sell youre probably onto something. Maybe you have the beginning of something
meaningful.
Dont feel bad if you sell out. Just dont stop there.
I mean shucks, we would have sold our first company, for sure. But no one wanted to buy it.
When we decided not to sell our business people called us a lot of things besides crazy things like
arrogant and entitled. The same words that Ive heard used to describe our generation time and time
again. The Millennial Generation. The Me Generation.
Well, its true. We do have a sense of entitlement, a sense of ownership, because, after all, this is the
world we were born into, and we are responsible for it.

The funny thing about Erased DeKooning is that it isnt for sale. Its safe and sound in the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Its tremendously valuable, but it bares no price.
You already have inside of you all of the amazing things you need to follow the dreams that you
have. And if you get stuck along the way theres a ton of free information available on the Internet.
Have faith in yourself and the person you are going to become. Know that you are capable of all of
the growth that will be expected of you and that you expect for yourself. You will tackle every
challenge headed your way and if you dont it wont be for lack of trying.
Someone will always have an opinion about you. Whatever you do wont ever be enough. So find
something important to you. Find something that you love.
You are going to make a lot of mistakes. Ive already made a ton of them some of them very
publicly and it will feel terrible, but it will be okay. Just apologize as quickly as you can and pray for
forgiveness.
When you leave, here youre going to face a great challenge: a full-time job. The hardest part is going
to be getting used to solving problems that dont yet have answers.
In times of despair, you may believe the cynic who tells you that one person cannot make a
difference and there are times it may be hard to see your own impact. I beg you to remember that
it is not possible at this time or any time to know the end results of our efforts. That is for our God
alone.
Please voice your dissent, anticipate your erasure, and find something you arent willing to sell.
Congratulations to the class of 2015! Go get em!