Harvard President Larry Bacow called on graduating seniors during their Baccalaureate Service on Tuesday to live their own lives to the fullest by defying master plans and other people’s expectations, and instead following their own passions and ideals.
“It’s important that you live your own life, not the life that others have planned for you,” Bacow told the Class of 2019 gathered in Memorial Church. “Sometimes figuring out what you don’t want to do can be as valuable as figuring out what you do want to do.”
Bacow related how he quit his legal studies when, while working one summer, he found himself counting billable hours and suddenly decided to explore other career paths. They eventually led him to the presidency of Harvard.