Tim McGraw has a personal connection to seniors disappointed over being unable to have commencement ceremonies due to COVID-19. Tim, and his wife, Faith Hill, were eager to watch their daughter, Maggie, graduate from college, and their youngest daughter, Audrey, graduate from high school, before coronavirus derailed those plans. The “I Called Mama” singer used that as a teaching moment, when he spoke as part of iHeartRadio‘s Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020 podcast.
“I can personally relate to the situation you’re in, as we have two daughters graduating this year; one from high school, one from college,” Tim reflected. “Our family joined you in the disappointment of not being able to share this moment in person as a collective event. We are all witnesses to your accomplishment, to this important marker of time in your life, even though it looks different than we all imagined. Life is often different than we imagined.”
Tim reminded the seniors of the importance of human connection –– something they will especially understand since they are missing so much of it right now.
“As a musician and entertainer, it’s always been at the heart of everything I do, everything I love,” Tim said. “Throughout my career, it’s always been my goal to reach out and connect with others through music. Everything I do at home in the studio or on that stage; lights, sound, music, everything, it’s all done with the goal of connection. I want to connect with the people in those seats, to bring us a moment we can all share together.”
“Graduates, you are a generation that understands community,” he continued. “I see in my daughters, and I see in you a passion to understand and help others, an awareness of the bigger picture of humanity, and a willingness to show up for each other. A wholly elevated level of care and attention to the world, and the footprint we make with them. We will get back to a new normal, and as we do, I challenge you graduates to become leaders who guide us with the beacon of human connection.”
Tim and Faith’s oldest daughter, Gracie, elected to stay in California while self-isolating, but Maggie and Audrey are both with their parents, allowing Tim to soak up every minute, especially with his youngest child before she heads off to college.
“All the things that would be going on with [Audrey’s] senior year, all the stuff that would be happening, we wouldn’t be spending that much time with her right now,” Tim recently reflected (via The Boot). “We wouldn’t have the moments that we had with her this last six or seven weeks, or whatever it’s been, to just hang out and be together.”
“Hopefully, one of these days, we’ll all look back and think, ‘Thank God we have this time together, just to spend and connect,’ because she’s going to be gone [to college soon],'” he added.
Recently, Tim offered words of encouragement for everyone, not just seniors, especially as the world deals with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“My simple wish is really and truly about one word: it’s empathy,” Tim shared in an interview with Blair Garner. “More empathy in the world. I think we’ve lost a lot of empathy in the world today. Sure, there are incredible people out there, and there are incredible thought-provoking people; people out there doing really good things. But I wish for the world to have more empathy … Try to see someone else’s perspective.”
Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Debby Wong
