Durham Reporter

Frank Bruni has journeyed from studying journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to writing columns for The New York Times, and he’s not one to forget his roots, returning to give this year’s commencement address on Saturday.

His journey hasn’t always been easy, but he hasn’t let that overshadow his attitude, and he engaged the graduates with a mix of wit and life points.

"You have survived years of torment as well as triumph of panic in addition to celebration of knotted stomachs and racing hearts and fingernails bitten to the quick,” he told the students, as reported on ABC11, "but we're not here to talk about Carolina basketball.” 

Bruni tossed in a few anecdotes from his undergraduate years where he worked on the Daily Tar Heel, then his speech turned more serious, as he opened up about a serious health challenge that reared its head four years ago.

He saw a doctor after waking up with blurred vision. Medical tests showed Bruni had suffered a stroke that could eventually lead to blindness, which would make his life’s work significantly more difficult.

It was time to reassess, said Bruno, a 1986 University of North Carolina grad.

"Why me? I asked the two stupidest words in the English language,” he recounted, the TV report said. “I did a mental survey of the people around me. And I realized that every one of them had suffered great loss or overcome great pain or was dealing with great hardship. I saw that the clarity of the objects around me has no connection to the sharpness of the ideas in my mind. Yes, it was more difficult to work. But editors still wanted that. So did readers. That was the relevant reality.”

His story showed the importance of positive thinking and how it affects one’s ability to move on and still do productive things with their lives. It was a message that the 2022 class president, Julian Castro Jr., shared.

“Today and always, reflect on your accomplishments, celebrate with those who are and always remember our home away from home—Carolina,” Castro said in his message to his fellow grads.