In 2014, Shonda Rhimes made a great addition to the list of noteworthy commencement speeches of all time. The author of Year of Yes; and television producer of Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, and much more, dropped a few words of wisdom to her alma mater. Despite her hatred for public speaking ("I do not like to give speeches. I'm a writer. I'm a TV writer. I like to write stuff for other people to say."), the self proclaimed introvert stood in front of hundreds of newly grads to give them a reality check like no other. Rhimes, who graduated from Dartmouth College in 1991, took a non-conventional approach with her speech. Instead of the preachy “dream big and reach for the stars” mantra, Rhimes had no problem keeping it real with how she got to where she is today. “From one Dartmouth grad to another,” she quickly establishes her ethos in hopes not to sound like some “random alum” who says “random stuff.” She wants to show the graduates of Dartmouth that she was in their same exact shoes about twenty years ago; scared and confused. But considering the fact that she is a best-selling author that also dominates Thursday nights with her hit shows, her advice is extremely trustworthy and authentic, and nowhere near bogus. She starts off from a logos stand point:
“When people give these kinds of speeches, they usually…show more content… But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen. It's hard work that creates change.”
Even though dreaming and envisioning a brighter future is important for whatever goal someone might have in mind. What Rhimes is really saying, is that dreams are ineffective if that person doesn’t actually “do” the time and effort it takes towards achieving that goal. She appeals to the emotion aspect of the audience by convincing them that as amazing as dreams are, they can’t get anywhere in life if you stay in
