You Are Not Special Commencement Speech from Wellesley High School

"I hope you've learned enough to recognize how little you know." so good.

"If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless."  Best line ever, hands down.

hi all, want to clear up a lot of your misconceptions. i have this guy as an english teacher at Wellesley high and first of all, he's not a principal. also, no person I've ever met at school cares more about my success than this man. he is encouraging and instills the most viable, accessible knowledge of any teacher I've ever had. he is so far from a "douche" as I've ever met. i find it incredible how you all can find so much negative from a speech that was meant to be encouraging. he is saying that nothing is given. you're lucky to be alive as it is such a minute possibility so why not take the opportunity to BECOME special. like he said, the PURSUIT of happiness is active. go do something and get to that special state everyone says you already have. this man is kind, caring, and truly eye opening. everyone judging with no background is so wrong, you can trust me cause i sit down with him for an hour every single day and learn from this man more than any teacher I've ever had. thanks guys and im willing to respond to any rebuttal or comments :)

Never in my life have i heard a more honest speech.

"Climb a mountain so that you can see the world, not so that the world can see you." Absolutely amazing advice, this speech is one of the best commencement speeches a class could hope for.

This right here is the type of graduation speech you would actually pay to have your kids hear

Best commencement speech ever. Summary: The purpose in life is not to follow others or do what society thinks is right. Its to look inside and do what you love whilst doing it around people that you love and enjoy being around. You aren't special insofar as we all have the same fate as one another. What we do in life ultimately doesn't matter. Our happiness is the only thing that matters!

He should've said, 'You only die once. You live everyday!'

even if you are 1 in a million ... there are 7000 people just like you

I miss Mr. McCullough. He was my high school Fiction and Film teacher in 1998. He gave almost this exact same speech at our Baccalaureate service the day before high school graduation in 1999. This was all when he taught in Hawaii. Without a doubt the best teacher ever.

This guy is my English teacher this year!

I wish this guy would've spoken at my high school graduation...

I watched this speech for the first time in my eleventh grade English class, and it completely changed my life. At the time, I was an overworked honors student who put mountains of pressure on herself simply because everyone had always said that I was capable of excellence. "You are not special" was one of the most liberating things I had ever heard. Now, as a college student, I go on impulsive adventures, sometimes around the globe, I try new things even if I don't have a decent reason to, and I cherish the relationships that I've built throughout the years. But more importantly, I am finally learning to live for myself. Thank you, Mr. McCollough.

I come back to this speech often. So well written. Inspiring.

This guy is a fantastic teacher. I go to Wellesley High School, and he's one of the best teachers there.

As a history major with a passion for great speeches, I can confidently say that this is one of the best speeches I've ever heard. This teacher captured, in less than 15 minutes, the cultural climate in which Americans find themselves, and preaches a message that is important, relevant, and powerful.

Best speech Ive ever heard. "Everyone is special, just like you" Amazing, it reminds me of one of Alberts famous quotes: "If you judge a fishes intelligence by how well it can climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking its stupid." Words to live by..

Someone's been reading Fight Club

The only ones downvoting this video, are the ones who categorically believe they are special sweetie-pies...

Making Donald Trump jokes in 2012. Truly a man ahead of his time.