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"Eighteen-year-old Theodore Chalfen's speech at Fairview High School's commencement ceremony was truly one of a kind. Not because he announced he was gay during it \u2014 his whole class already knew that \u2014 but because he managed to be insanely inspiring without the use of cliches. \nChalfen began his speech by saying he was \"skipping over the cliches,\" then got to the point of thanking the class of 2013 for being supportive of his decision to go through high school as openly gay. It wasn't a decision he made lightly, he said, but didn't regret it because of the outpouring of understanding his classmates showed him for four years. \nSEE ALSO: 11 Graduation Caps That Stole the Entire Show\n \nHe said he expected to be bullied, but, instead, was embraced by mostly positive reactions. \n\"This incredible kindness is not demonstrated by the full 100 percent of the student body,\" Chalfen said. \"My only hope for those of you who weren\u2019t as nice is that you can learn from the examples of your friends and your colleagues and become caring, understanding adults in the future. Because like it or not, we\u2019re all in this together, and this generation is never going to accomplish the things I know it to be capable of unless we stop thinking of each other in terms of 'us' and 'them.'\"\nSo thanks, Fairview High School for showing the rest of the world what kindness and friendship means. And thanks to Chalfen, for proving that high school graduation speeches don't have to be cliche. \nBONUS: 10 Inspiring Celebrity Commencement Speeches on YouTube\n \n\n\n10 Inspiring Celebrity Commencement Speeches on YouTube\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005\n\"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever -- because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Conan O'Brien, Dartmouth 2011\r\n\n\"It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.  It\u2019s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can be a catalyst for profound reinvention.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. J.K. Rowling, Harvard 2008\r\n\n\"The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Sheryl Sandberg, Barnard 2011\n\"Don\u2019t let your fears overwhelm your desire.  Let the barriers you face -- and there will be barriers -- be external, not internal.  Fortune does favor the bold, and I promise that you will never know what you\u2019re capable of unless you try.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Stephen Colbert, Northwestern 2011\n\"Life is an improvisation -- you have no idea what's going to happen next, and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Jeff Bezos, Princeton 2010\r\n\n\"Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy -- they're given, after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Amy Poehler, Harvard 2011\n\"Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. No one is here today because they did it on their own.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Larry Page, University of Michigan 2009\r\n\n\"Overall, I know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. Don\u2019t give up on your dreams. The world needs you all!\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Ellen DeGeneres, Tulane 2009\n\"The most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity, and not to give into peer pressure -- to try to be something that you're not. To live your life as an honest and compassionate person. To contribute in some way.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Oprah Winfrey, Stanford 2008\n\"The secret I've learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons -- lessons from the grandest university of all -- that is, the universe itself.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBONUS: Mary Schmich\n\n\"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nH/T Hypervocal. Image via iStockphoto, DustyPixel "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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