The Office and Jack Ryan star John Krasinski is trying to offer glimmers of joy during this dumpster fire of a year with his weekly YouTube show, Some Good News. The premise of the show finds the actor and director highlighting some of the best things he’s seen on the internet through fan submissions, such as acts of kindness and philanthropy, which are sure to place a smile on viewers’ faces.
This week, SGN honored 2020’s college, high school (and even kindergarten) graduates, whose big days were either postponed or canceled due to the effects of COVID-19. Via Zoom chat, several young people were featured as part of the show’s virtual graduation ceremony, which came complete with exciting guest speakers.
Oprah Winfrey—who is the keynote speaker for Facebook’s virtual graduation ceremony on May 11—was one of the four big names who spoke at SGN’s virtual graduation; the other speakers were Malala Yousafzai, Steven Spielberg and Jon Stewart. Each speaker was asked a question about life and what they’ve learned since entering the real world, and Oprah had a pretty inspiring story about failure to share with Harvard senior Amanda Gorman. Amanda is going to do amazing things—as Krasinski detailed, she already has, as Gorman became the youngest youth poet laureate in this country’s history at the age of 16.
“Think about a time in your life that felt like a low point at the moment, but actually changed everything for you,” she asks. Winfrey, who says she loved how the question “feels like therapy,” explained a less-than-stellar experience working at a Baltimore television station.
“There have been several times in my life when things didn’t go the way I wanted,” she notes. “This is actually the most influential in my life, the most impactful...I was 22, I got this big job working in television as an anchor on the news in Baltimore. I was placed with an older gentleman who didn’t want me to be there, but I didn’t know that.”
She continues by explaining that she was demoted to working on a talk show on April 1, 1977, which she initially believed was an April Fools’ joke. However, it helped her become the mogul she is today.
“I get demoted, I am humiliated, I am embarrassed...instead of firing me, they put me on the local talk show. And the day I did my first talk show, I felt like I had come home to myself,” she smiles. “Failure is an opportunity to move yourself in a different direction because you’ve learned the lessons from the first time.”
Great story and heartwarming advice from all speakers. We’re hoping SGN could brighten someone’s day today.