Charlie Day delivered the keynote address at the 2014 graduation of his alma mater, Merrimack College, that also bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate — which means that you can now refer to him as “Doctor Charlie Day.” After a few minutes of wisecracks and college pranks, Day tells a few interesting personal anecdotes about how he made it from sitting out in the sea of faces in 1998 to standing up behind the podium at Merrimack’s 2014 commencement.
The overall theme of his speech was believing in yourself, taking risks, and creating an opportunity instead of waiting for one to be offered. (Also to not give a sh*t about internet comments, duly noted.) Apparently when he and Rob McElhenney were filming the DIY pilot for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Day was offered a part on a 2005 sitcom, Life on a Stick — which he turned down to do Sunny. This is crazy, because a girl who graduated a couple of years after me in high school landed that series and, after it was mercy cancelled, from what I heard she moved back to our hometown, got married and had a kid. I mean, I’m sure she’s happy and all now, which is great — but just think of how close we came to Charlie Day tanking on that same sinking ship. Chilling, to say the least.
Anyway, guy gives a good commencement speech. You should totally watch it.
