Inaugural poet Richard Blanco told the crowd gathered for URI’s sunlit May 18 Commencement that life is like writing class:

Revise, revise, revise.

As a poet, we’re taught to do away with clichés, and you should do the same. Strive to be an original in everything. You don’t have to fit the mold of what your degree says. You need to add to that degree.

Never stop asking: Now what?

Think of your life as an unfinished poem. It’s true that a good life, like a good poem, answers questions. But I’ll tell you this: A great life, like a great poem, asks questions.