I have been lucky to be a part of great ensembles. My work with...

“I have been lucky to be a part of great ensembles. My work with the Upright Citizens Brigade lead me to my work on Saturday Night Live, and when I graduated from that comedy college I was worried about what came next. Then Parks and Recreation came along, a show I’m proud of where I get to work with people I love. You  never know what is around the corner, unless you peak. Hold someone’s hand while you do it. You will feel less scared. You can’t do this alone. Besides, it’s much more fun to succeed and fail with other people. You can blame them when things go wrong. Take your risks now, as you grow older you become more fearful and less flexible, and I mean that literally. I hurt my knee on the treadmill this week and it wasn’t even on. Try to keep your mind open to possibilities, and your mouth closed on matters you don’t know about. Limit your always and your nevers. Continue to share your heart with people, even if its been broken. Don’t treat your heart like an action figure, wrapped in plastic and never used. And don’t try to give me that nerd argument that your heart is a Batman with a limited edition silver Batarang and therefore if it stays in its original packing it increases in value. Watch it, Harvard, you’re not better than me! Even though as a class you are smart, you are still allowed to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Just because you are in high demand, you are still allowed to say, ‘let me get back to you.’ This will come in handy when your parents ask when you plan to move out of their basement, and you answer, ‘I don’t know. Let me get back to you.’ Which leads me to my final thought. Would it kill you to be nicer to your parents? “Would it kill you to be nicer to your parents? They have sacrificed so much for you, and all they want you to do is smile and take a picture with your weird cousins. Do that for them, and with less eye-rolling please.” | Amy Poehler, Harvard Commencement