YOUTUBE’s Some Good News (SGN) featured Harvard Graduate Amanda Gorman, who was named National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017 in its 6th episode. Amanda was invited along with two other students to pose a question to a mystery commencement speaker who would answer it in lieu of giving their commencement speech.  Her mystery commencement speak turned out to be Oprah, and she asked Oprah what was one of the most disappointing things in her life that resulted in something good?  Oprah shared a powerful story: she said it was when she was fired from doing an evening news show and instead they had her do a talk show – and when she did the talk show, she knew in her bones that was what she should be doing.  SGN ended with a surprise – Amanda shared one of her poems, which I transcribed so I could share it with you. 

She said: “Today, we burst into a new world around the globe.  You might be wearing a robe, but this is our ode, our moment – so let’s own it. Let’s smile because we didn’t mount this milestone alone – This took a village.  We are the image only ever seen in our ancestor’s wildest dreams. This is a rite of passage or more so a passage of lights.  We’re the bright torch that never stops burning, never quits learning.  This night too shall pass, and when it does this 2020 class won’t navigate a new normal.  Together we’ll build a better one.  We’ve come to this commencement to search no more – We are the good news we’ve been looking for – demonstrating that every dusk holds a dawned disguised within its day.  WE DON’T BURST INTO A NEW WORLD – WE BEGIN IT!”