Jimmy Fallon Delivers Parkland Commencement Speech

SUNRISE, FL — Declaring "the whole world has heard your voice," late night funnyman Jimmy Fallon paid a surprise visit to the 2018 graduating class of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday. Fallon delivered the commencement address at the BB&T Center during an emotional ceremony in which all four slain seniors were honored with posthumous diplomas. Fallon offered sage advice and some long overdue smiles for the survivors of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.

"When you think of commencement speakers, you think of people who are inspirational, people who are eloquent, people who changed the world," the host of NBC's long running "The Tonight Show" said at the outset of his remarks. "When you think of high school students, you think of people who are a little immature, slightly awkward and still learning to be an adult. Welcome to opposite day."

Broward schools Superintendent Robert Runcie noted the end of a "heartbreaking school year" in a letter to the families of Marjory Stoneman Douglast High School students that was posted on the school's website. He said that the district and the entire community will be forever changed by the Valentine's Day massacre that claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty members.

The mother of Joaquin Oliver, who was one of the four seniors killed in the horrific attack wore a T-shirt that said, "This should be my son" as she ascended the steps to pick up a diploma in her son's memory. Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, was killed in the attack, couldn't bear to attend, according to his son, who accepted the diploma on his sister's behalf.

On Monday, the Stoneman Douglas students announced a 20-state summer bus tour called the Road to Change where they will be registering young people to vote as a follow up to the massive March For Our Lives rallies in Washington D.C. and around the nation. The event kicks off on June 15 in Chicago.

"At each stop, we’ll register young people to vote and educate them on the reforms we need to save lives, and whether their local candidates and elected officials support these reforms or support the NRA," according to the event website.

Fallon told the students that they are now graduates and won't be classmates any longer.

"You will be adults who Facebook search each other at 2 in the morning for the next 10 years," Fallon quipped.

The comedian said he met some of the students already at the Washington rally, which he described as an "amazing day." Fallon said he and his wife brought their two daughters to the rally to show them what hope and light looks like up close.

"As I was standing there watching you guys in awe, I was lucky enough to stand with a lot of your teachers," Fallon recalled. "Let me tell you something: You're teachers are so proud of you. Really, they were like 'I taught him. I taught her. I taught them history.'"

Recalling his own high school days, Fallon conceded: "My teachers weren't really proud of me like that. I wasn't the best student. I wouldn't say I was dumb. I just had other strengths."

Here is Fallon's advice to the graduating class:

• "When something feels hard, remember that it gets better. Choose to move forward and don't let anything stop you."
• "Any bad experience can have something good that comes out of it."
• "Sometimes things that seem like setbacks can take our lives in a totally new direction that changes us in ways we don't expect. It can make us better and stronger. You guys have already proved that to everyone. You took something horrific; instead of letting it stop you, you started a movement — not just here in Florida, not just in America, but throughout the whole world. The whole world has heard your voice and that was you making a choice."
• "Keep making good choices. I'm not saying it because I think you need to learn it. I'm saying it because you already taught it to all of us."
• "I can't promise you that life will be easy but if you make good choices and keep moving forward, I can promise you that it will get better in ways we haven't even thought of yet."
• "We have no idea what the future holds and that's okay. Don't get too hung up on it. My advice to you is don't think about what you want to do. Think about why you want to do it and the rest will figure itself out."
• "Lay off the carbs."
• "Listen to everyone around you. Hear other voices. There are so many different voices in the world. We're all different voices, different flavors, different colors but we're all on the same rainbow. We need red just as much as we need yellow and purple and orange and blue and green and burgundy (the school color)."
• "Work hard for everything. Put one foot in front of the other and keep going, day by day, moment by moment. You always have a chance to be building something, working on something, pushing something up the hill, practicing every day rain or shine, in the mood or not. It's not easy, but you have to keep trying, keep failing and having goals and pushing them ahead every day."
• "Take good care of yourself. Check in with yourself every day. Put your phone down and be silent for a moment or two."
• "Be kind."
• "Think ahead."
• "Have courage."
• "Try new things."
• "Remember the past but don't stay there."
• "Honor your fellow humans."
• "Keep laughing."
• "Celebrate anything you can as often as you can because it's fun."
• "Write letters and send them with a stamp in the mailbox."
• "Say hello to people."
• "Smile more often."
• "Be kind to people who wait on your table, bag your groceries, move your furniture."
• "When you dance, dance from the inside."
• "Don't ever get off your parent's wireless plan. Ride that train as long as possible."

Watch below as Jimmy Fallon delivers the commencement address to the 2018 graduating class of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School:

Photo courtesy Broward County Public Schools