Rainn Wilson gave a commencement speech to rich kids — and he got very real with them.
Rainn Wilson started his New Trier High School commencement speech poking lighthearted fun at the graduates’ wealth.
Pulling from the Chicago North Shore’s most affluent neighborhoods, New Trier is known as a public school for rich kids. Even their traditional graduation garb highlights the school’s demographic.
Rather than the traditional cap and gown, the 1,000 or so graduating seniors don white tuxedos and dresses adorned with a red rose. It’s quite a sight. Photo via Upsilon Andromedae/Flickr.
Wilson graduated from New Trier decades ago. Best known for his iconic role as Dwight K. Schrute in the "The Office," Wilson also co-founded SoulPancake, a digital media company that explores life’s big questions.
The actor's love of humor and humanity shine through in his commencement speech to New Trier’s 2018 graduates.
Wilson started off joking about the school’s mascot, the Trevian.
"For those of you who don’t know, a 'Trevian' is a person from Trier, Germany, who was given a BMW on their 16th birthday," Wilson said. (Cue laughter.) He also pointed out the irony of having the ceremony in the Sears Centre "considering probably not a single person in this room has ever set foot inside of a Sears." Again, laughter. These folks know themselves.
Then he got serious about what the students’ privilege means for them as they move into the world.
"We’re a privileged bunch in many ways," Wilson said. "Most of us have come from money, have some money, most of us are white-skinned, and come from families where there’s been a tremendous amount of success. Most of us are going to get an amazing secondary education. And for most of us, the doors to the business world, or the art world, or political world, or science world will be wide open for us."
"This is not something I ever want you to feel bad about," he continued. "What privilege means is that we have an opportunity ... not to be entitled, not to be superior, but to acknowledge our privilege and do whatever we can to help those who don’t have it."
People sometimes mistake pointing out privilege with pushing guilt. As Wilson explained, advantages and abundance are simply opportunities "to make the world a better place."
"We have an opportunity to create jobs, nonprofits, to help fund arts organizations, help make science make tremendous strides forward, and to use our education for the greater good rather than merely seeking personal comfort and personal status," he said.
The standard mantra of "be a good person" is inadequate to conquer the challenges facing humanity, Wilson explained.
"The world is hurting from disunity and injustice, and we need to do more," Wilson said. "It is our privilege to be change agents in this world, to be of maximum love in this world, of maximum service, to make every school on this planet as great as the incredible New Trier High School."
And Wilson walks his talk.
He and his wife, Holiday Reinhorn, founded an educational initiative for girls in Haiti called Lidè. He also serves on the board of the global grassroots educational nonprofit, Mona Foundation.
Wilson capped off his thoughts on privilege with a quote from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, from which Wilson draws his inspiration to serve humanity:
"Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Do some good to every person whose path you cross, and be of some benefit to him ... for love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest."
Imagine what the world would look like if all of us took Wilson's advice to heart and used whatever privilege we have for good.
Watch Wilson's full speech here:
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."