Bill Nye’s advice for Gen Z grads: ‘Pessimistic people don’t get very much done’—and they’ll drag you down with them

“No matter what else is going on, everyone, please, be optimistic,” Nye said during his 2019 commencement speech for Goucher College—the same school where his mother graduated in 1942. Nye was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Goucher about twenty years prior—one of six of his honorary degrees. 

The “Science Guy” icon has a good reason for saying so. He acknowledged it can be easy to get bogged down by the state of the world—from natural disasters and persistent inequalities to crippling wars and environmental crises. But nonetheless, Nye insists now is the time to be alive.

“Keep in mind, everyone, that if you couldn’t choose where you would be born on Earth, but you could choose when, this would be the time to be born. This is the most exciting time in human history,” Nye said. “Life is better now, for more of us, than ever before in history. As strange as it may seem, this really is the best time. The opportunities before us are amazing.”

Thinking otherwise could be disastrous to one’s progress. If comparison is the thief of joy, then pessimism is the thief of progress, according to Nye. And despite what they may read on the news every day, he hopes the graduates will keep their heads held high. If not, defeatism could turn into self-sabotage and will drag others down around them. 

“People who aren’t optimistic don’t get very much done. They get spun up and worn down by their own self-doubt. And they’ll bring you down with them.”

Don’t be afraid to change the world 

Nye understands that college students are often walking on shaky legs heading into the workforce. Many might not know what they want their path to look like, and others may be paralyzed by climate change and the crushing thought that our world is “on fire.” 

Yet, as daunting as it may seem, Nye reminded Goucher graduates that they’re the next generation of movers and shakers. They will be the ones responsible for feeding the billions of new people added to the global population in the coming decades. They will be the next cohort of leaders. 

For students in their early twenties, it might be difficult—or even terrifying—to imagine themselves in that role or a position of power. But he doubled down on saying that they shouldn’t be afraid. 

“When it comes to changing the world, don’t be scared. Don’t freak out,” Nye said. “When you have to perform anything, be it a final exam, dressing for a date, winning a world war, or managing a planet, you might be nervous. You might be scared. And that fear can stop you cold, but don’t let it.”

Instead, Nye suggests graduates channel that anxiety into motivation. 

“As we say in the theater and on television, take that fear and turn it into excitement.”

You can learn from everyone

Nye might be one of the most celebrated educators and scientific figures of the 21st century, serving as an intellectual confidant and touchstone for many. But in his speech Nye asserted that everyone, including himself, has something to learn from others. 

“Here’s something else I hope you’ll carry with you as long as you live: Everyone you’ll ever meet knows something you don’t. Everyone,” Nye said.

The Science Guy explained that those inside and far outside of your intellectual circle have valuable things to share: Farmers know things about plants that botanists could never pick up in their studies. Bricklayers have expert knowledge on how to lay down bricks and build a stable formation. Cooks have the skill to work with copper cookware to manipulate egg proteins—which he says he finds “cool.” Someone’s wit may look different from another’s, and that should be shared and celebrated. 

“Respect that knowledge and learn from others, and it’ll bring out the best in them, and it’ll bring out the best in you,” Nye concluded.