You have to admit it: Ellen DeGeneres is the epitome of honesty.

Comedian, yes. Talk show host, yes. And yet, she’s honest. There is no character, nothing objectionable, and absolutely nothing fake.

If you haven’t seen her commencement speech, you need to. It’s about 10 and a half minutes and it’s great. You can watch it below:

What strikes me is that Ellen has been kicked to the curb despite her obvious talent, simply because some people were/are afraid. So their tactic is to intimidate and try to make her afraid.

It is my hope that not only those graduates in the audience at Tulane University, but students everywhere get a chance to learn how to stand up from her. That she saw, in herself, the need to be prophetic, honest, and authentic. She had to claim who she was, not as clothing or as a fad that can give definition to her identity, but to portray herself as she sees herself. What 22 year-old doesn’t need to hear that? And what 62 year-old doesn’t need to hear that, either? What church doesn’t need to hear that?

Ellen loves to dance–and she gets a chance to do it everyday on her show. What do you love to do?