Taylor Swift was never enrolled at a university, but she is now allowed to hold a doctorate. At the age of 32, she has at least collected some life wisdom. Her tip for young academics: be demanding and don’t be put off by setbacks.

Singer-songwriter superstar Taylor Swift is now a PhD. The 32-year-old received an honorary doctorate from New York University on Wednesday (local time) – and gave the graduates a few life tips at their graduation ceremony in the packed stadium of the New York Yankees baseball team. Tens of thousands of people – graduates and their families and friends – attended the celebration.

“Life can be hard, especially when you’re trying to carry everything at once,” said Swift, who has sold over 100 million records and been showered with Grammys. It’s important to know what to keep and what to let go of — for example, resentment at ex-partners or envy of other people’s jobs. “A toxic relationship can outweigh so many wonderful, simple joys. You get to choose what your life has time and space for. Be demanding,” the artist advised the graduates.

Swift, who never went to college and began her music career at age 15, received her PhD in Fine Arts. It’s best not to ask her for help in emergencies, “unless your specific emergency is that you urgently need to hear a song with a catchy hook and a very cathartic bridge section.” Or if someone is needed who can list 50+ cat breeds in a minute.

One should never be too timid to achieve one’s own goals, Swift continued. “Effortlessness is a myth.” You can also reinvent yourself at any time to get where you want to go: “I have good news: it’s entirely up to you. I also have frightening news: it’s entirely up to you.” At the end, she told the students that it won’t always be easy: “And you’ll screw things up sometimes. Me too. And if I do that, you’ll most likely read about it on the internet.” But you can also recover from the biggest setbacks. “As long as we’re lucky enough to breathe, we’re going to take deep breaths, deep breaths, and deep breaths. And I’m a doctor now, so I know how breathing works.”

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