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Taylor Swift Shares Her Best 'Life Hacks' in Nostalgic Speech as She Earns Honorary Doctorate from NYU

Taylor Swift Delivers New York University 2022 Commencement Address at Yankee Stadium on May 18, 2022 in New York City.
Taylor Swift Delivers New York University 2022 Commencement Address at Yankee Stadium on May 18, 2022 in New York City.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Taylor Swift

It's a big day for Taylor Swift!

On Wednesday morning, Swift, 32, delivered her first-ever commencement speech and received a Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, from NYU.

The commencement ceremony took place at Yankee Stadium in a "doubleheader" event that honored the Classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022.

After she received her accolade, she stepped up to the podium to deliver a 20-minute speech where she gave the audience personal anecdotes, imparted wisdom from her career and assured them that making mistakes is inevitable.

"Last time I was in a stadium this size, I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard. This outfit is much more comfortable," Swift began, later referencing her hit 1989 song. "To all the parents, family members, mentors, teachers, allies, friends and loved ones here today who have supported these students ... let me say to you now: Welcome to New York. It's been waiting for you."

Singer Taylor Swift receives an honorary doctorate of fine arts during New York University's commencement ceremony for the class of 2022 at Yankee Stadium in New York City on May 18, 2022.
Singer Taylor Swift receives an honorary doctorate of fine arts during New York University's commencement ceremony for the class of 2022 at Yankee Stadium in New York City on May 18, 2022.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Taylor Swift

Acknowledging she never had a "normal college experience," Swift shared some of her best "life hacks" and later explained why she no longer believes in giving "advice."

"Life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once. Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release," she said. "Secondly, learn to live alongside cringe ... I had a phase where, for the entirely of 2012, I dressed like a 1950s housewife. But you know what? I was having fun."

The superstar also reflected on her rise to stardom, recalling the "thinly veiled warnings" she received from "older members" of the music industry and media.

"I became a young adult while being fed the message that if I didn't make any mistakes, all the children of America would grow up to be perfect angels," she said. "However, if I did slip up, the entire earth would fall off its axis and it would be entirely my fault and I would go to pop star jail forever and ever."

Ultimately, Swift advised the graduates to follow their "gut instincts" even in the face of fear.

"You will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about it on the internet," she quipped. "Hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it."

She then concluded her speech in true Swift fashion: "I hope you know how proud I am to share this day with you. We're doing this together. So let's just keep dancing like we're … the class of 2022."

RELATED: Taylor Swift's Most Iconic New York City Moments

The Grammy winner's "get ready with me" TikTok video ahead of the ceremony opened with a barefaced Swift riding in the back of a car before it quickly panned to her in a black mini dress with makeup (red lipstick, of course) and hair done — and sliding on her cheetah-print pump heels.

The "Blank Space" singer then zipped up her purple NYU gown and adjusted the cap on her head. She then posed in front of a graduation banner — and a large bird cage filled with books, a camera and a Grammy award — as her dad took pictures of her ready to go.

In March, the prestigious Manhattan school announced Swift would be receiving the honor and addressing the school as a speaker.

It called Swift "one of the most prolific and celebrated artists of her generation" in a statement, and recognized her various career achievements, including the fact that she is the only female artist to ever win album of the year three times at the Grammys, and the only solo artist this century to have three albums reach No. 1 in one year.

Swift has been hoping to receive an honorary doctorate degree for quite some time. In a Vogue 73 Questions interview uploaded to YouTube in 2016, she was asked to name a goal she's determined to achieve during her life.

"I really want an honorary doctorate degree, because Ed Sheeran has one, and I feel like he looks down on me now 'cause I don't have one," said the "Shake It Off" singer at the time.

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In addition to recruiting her to give graduates some words of wisdom, NYU recently offered Swifties a new course on the star at its Clive Davis Institute.

The spring 2022 class was taught by Rolling Stone reporter Brittany Spanos, who told NYU Local that students will learn about everything from Swift's engagement with Black culture and her portrayal in the media as a white country star to her "immeasurable" influence on songwriters like Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish.

"[I hope students] learn how to appreciate that type of songwriting and listen to her and understand her beyond the way that the public has shaped her," Spanos said.

Taylor Swift receives an honorary degree from NYU at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The 32 year old pop star pumped her fists in the air while wearing a cap and gown.
Taylor Swift receives an honorary degree from NYU at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The 32 year old pop star pumped her fists in the air while wearing a cap and gown.

TheImageDirect.com Taylor Swift

RELATED: Joe Alwyn Says Writing Folklore Songs with Girlfriend Taylor Swift Was the 'Most Accidental Thing'

Most recently, the 1989 musician dropped the re-recorded "Taylor's Version" of her song "This Love," which is featured in the trailer for Amazon Prime Video's coming-of-age series The Summer I Turned Pretty.

In an Instagram post about the trailer, the singer-songwriter thanked Jenny Han, who wrote the 2009 novel on which the series is based.

"Thank you @jennyhan for debuting my version of This Love in the trailer for @thesummeriturnedpretty!!" she wrote in the post's caption. "I've always been so proud of this song and I'm very 🥺🥺🥺 about this turn of events - This Love (Taylor's Version) comes out tonight at m i d n i g h t!"

"This Love (Taylor's Version)" marks Swift's second re-recorded track from 1989 to be released. Amid the rollout of last year's Red (Taylor's Version)1989's fifth single "Wildest Dreams" went viral on TikTok due to a slow zoom video trend, and Swift released "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)" as a surprise to fans.