What a day! Deeply humbling.

Absolutely amazing day! Here’s my speech on receiving my honorary doctorate from Derby University to the graduating class of 2022. Very humbling!

I will always be a Derby lad. It’s in my bones. 

I don’t quite believe this… 

To the Graduates of 2022: 

Being presented this, and this opportunity to receive an honorary doctorate, it’s sort of given me a huge pause for thought actually. It led me to sort of think about  a lot of the choices I’ve made along the way, and the chances I’ve taken that have brought me here. And it also led me to think about my earliest years and my dreams and aspirations, and the people that supported me along the way, no matter how preposterous and strange that ambition might have seemed at the time.  

I wanted to draw comics. I really wanted to draw comics which was a crazy thing back then. 

It doesn’t seem that odd anymore. It seems, probably to some people, like a really good career choice. But back in the 70’s and 80’s there was a different view of comics. It was like, asking to live on the Moon or something. Nobody had the vaguest idea of what that was really or how you could find your way into that medium or get a job in it. It was completely opaque, and nobody knew how to do it.  

But I knew that that’s what I wanted to do, and in that singular belief I was trusted by those that loved me; in particular my parents. 

I wondered for a while why I deserved this doctorate; why I deserved this honor today. In the present company, and the other honorants, I feel very much an imposter, if I’m honest. 

But then I thought about what my personal journey might represent and what could be taken from that.  

I chose the path I chose not through any notion of riches or fame, but through a passion for this crazy underdog narrative form of art that’s made up of words and pictures confined to boxes and called comic books.  

I believed in a dream that seemed impossible but was so wonderfully enchanting to me, and I doggedly stuck to it. No matter what I was told. Not by other artists, not by art agencies, and even more memorably once a University professor.  

No matter how much my work was belittled, disregarded or discouraged, I knew they were wrong. 

It didn’t really matter what they thought.  

And now things are very different, as evidenced.  

In the last fifteen years preconceptions have changed a lot. I mean radically changed, and that’s kind of what I represent.  

It’s the power of dreams, and the ability to change the world in small and sometimes great ways. So I’m very proud to be part of that change.  

You’re all on the threshold of your future lives, so don’t be afraid to believe in yourselves. No matter what you’re told. You know innately what’s worth fighting for. I’m not talking about riches or possessions or acquisitions; those kinds of things can distract us and sometimes they can inspire us to work a little harder to achieve those dreams, but they’re not the actual dreams. So I encourage you always, in any of the tougher times which will inevitably come to everybody: 

Ask yourself why?

Why am I doing this? Is it truly who I am? Why am I unhappy? Have I forgotten what I wanted to do? Why did I want to do this? What inspires me? What excited me? Why did it feel like I could do this forever? Why doesn’t it feel like that now? 

Never be afraid to trust your instincts. Don’t be bullied either. Don’t stop trusting your heart. Don’t be guided solely by the advice of others.  

Only YOU know who you truly are and what dreams may come.  

Also I would say tread lightly on the World and do it with kindness.  

Whatever the situation make kindness a default. 

We all have bad days so bear that in mind in your dealings with others.  

How you exemplify yourself will reflect on you through absolutely everything you do. It will be a factor in work, love and play. It will have a bearing on the kinds of friends you have, the families you might raise, and the trust that people have in you, whatever and wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. It will guide how you think about the wider world and inform you regarding the needs of all humanity.  

Kindness allows you to walk in the footsteps of all people with a level of empathy.  

Beyond the horrors of the news, and we’ve only got to go online to see what’s happening on social media to know that right now we really need that kindness. 

So lastly, before you get that post-graduate selfie, think about the people who helped you get here and who supported you. It might be your parents, it might be one specific teacher or lecturer, or it might be a really close friend that loves and understands you. 

Take a moment to think about them, and at some point thank them.  

Mom, Dad, and my beautiful wife and love of my life Christina; THANK YOU.  

This is for you, and it’s the reason I’m very happy to accept this doctorate today. 

So, all my very best wishes for all of you!  

Please enjoy the rest of this amazing day!