{"id":935,"date":"2016-05-31T15:07:40","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/?p=935"},"modified":"2016-06-14T16:37:45","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T20:37:45","slug":"commencement-address-by-nonie-creme-90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/2016\/05\/31\/commencement-address-by-nonie-creme-90\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement Address by Nonie Creme ’90"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NonieCreme'90\"<\/a>
Nonie Creme ’90\/Photo by Joanna Chattman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I was 15, I ran away from home. Now, as you\u2019ll get to know, when I<\/strong> decide to do something, I do not mess around, which is why our story begins in a Santa Fe jail cell. Turns out it\u2019s illegal to be a minor on the run 900 miles<\/strong> from home.<\/p>\n

It was around this time my folks said to me, \u201cYou seem like a decent kid, but this whole \u2018living at home\u2019 thing just isn\u2019t working out,\u201d and so \u201cI\u201d (and by that, I mean \u201cthey\u201d) started looking at boarding schools. I mean, between boarding school and jail, it was kind of a no-brainer\u2026<\/p>\n

Frankly, I was a really messed up teenager. I had a total inability to control my emotions, and ZERO ability to censor, which got me into plenty of trouble. I just felt really, really angry almost all of the time. I hated my body, I hated my family, I hated my own insecurity, and the mere whiff of any<\/em> form of authority sent me into a core meltdown. Off the record, I will admit that authority is something I still really<\/em> struggle with\u2026. \u00a0Which is why I start companies and work for myself.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the main criteria for my boarding school choices, was that they had to be FAR, FAR AWAY. That was about it. For me, looking at schools was scary and upsetting. I wasn\u2019t going by choice, I felt alone, and as though I was drifting, aimless, and unwanted. I was 16.<\/p>\n

When I came for my Williston interview, I was SO intimidated. Everyone on campus looked so grown up and sophisticated. I felt like a Southern yokel in mom jeans<\/a> and a sweater from The Limited<\/a> \u2014 which you are too young to know about, but trust me \u2014 it\u2019s bad. I had never really left home before, (apart from all the running away of course\u2026), but I was beginning to realize that there was a BIG difference between Texas and Massachusetts, and I wanted in<\/strong>. The deal was sealed when a really hot junior guy gave me my tour, and I was like \u201cMom, I\u2019m going HERE\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Williston felt the same. I\u2019ll be honest here \u2014 my grades were NOT impressive, and it was probably a pretty close call, but what sticks with me, is that Williston recognized a kid with potential. It was no secret that I came with baggage, but Williston was ready to give me a nurturing, attentive home when my own home wasn\u2019t viable, and that<\/strong> is where this story truly<\/em> begins.<\/p>\n

Like I said, I had never left home before, and let me tell you \u2014I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but I was a spoiled brat, which became pretty clear when I was informed that there was, in fact, not<\/em> a maid service, and I would be washing my own clothes. I had never even touched a washing machine before. I felt like an idiot. Too proud to ask for help, I decided that the best course of action was to hide my dirty clothes in<\/em><\/strong> my bed, under the fitted sheet. (and yes, this is a totally <\/strong>true story) Slowly, I ran out of clothes. Underwear became a distant memory. I was panic stricken, when, at last, my roommate noted that my bed was a full foot taller than hers and STUNK.<\/p>\n

And so, eating a big slice of humble pie, I finally asked my dorm dad, Mr. Tulejah, to show me how those mysterious machines in the basement worked. It sounds silly, but that small step toward independence set me on a course that undeniably helped begin my healing and growing process.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take a brief break from memory lane here, and tell you who I am now, so that you don\u2019t call security and have me removed.<\/p>\n

I have since helped start two beauty companies, one called Butter London<\/a>, and the other, Colour Prevails<\/a>, and I consult globally for every company you\u2019ve ever bought a nail polish, lipstick, or mascara from. So, did I leave Williston and go to Columbia? Attend Harvard Business School? Nope. I just learnt some crucial lessons here that helped me not only get IN to college, but also helped me understand that a meaningful educational journey is based on more than just good grades.<\/p>\n

I started my first ever beauty business as a penniless illegal alien in London. Why was I in London? Well, because I followed a British boy home and he was going to be a rock star, so clearly, I was never going to have to do anything as pedestrian as get a job. <\/em> <\/strong>When rock-stardom eluded us, I would stand outside the subway station in the Financial District every morning with a basket full of nail supplies and hand out little scraps of paper with my number on them. By lunchtime, I\u2019d be fully booked going from office to office doing desk-side manicures for the fancy businesswomen. Now, I couldn\u2019t have known that filing nails for ten pounds would eventually lead to a 20 million dollar nail polish company, but the important take away is this:<\/p>\n

FIGURE SHIT OUT. Don\u2019t just stand there wringing your hands when life doesn\u2019t throw a 4.0 at you. Plot a course, be brave, and put one foot in front of the other. That\u2019s it. You don\u2019t have to be the smartest, you don\u2019t have to be the prettiest, you don\u2019t need over 10k followers. You don\u2019t have to know what you\u2019ll be doing in five years, just know what you are doing today.<\/u><\/strong> Oh yeah, for those of you ignoring this speech and playing on your Iphone my Insta handle is @noniecreme<\/a><\/p>\n

Eventually, I got so good at doing nails that a top London agent picked me up, and started sending me out to do nails for Vogue cover stories, London and New York Fashion Week, and people like Rihanna, Naomi Campbell, and Kate Moss. It\u2019s worth noting that a manicure at Kate Moss\u2019s house can take three days of your life, and\u00a0you won\u2019t remember anything when you get home. Which is probably for the best. Anyway, I used to hand-mix all of my polishes, and they became a sort of cult thing that everyone in London wanted.<\/p>\n

I knew I needed a nail polish company to sell this stuff, but like I said, I have no business degree, and had NO IDEA how to raise money or start a company. And then I met a girl about my age, who DID have a business degree, and DID know how to do those things. The only problem was that she lived in Seattle, and I lived in London. We agreed to share the company, and shoot for the stars. Our first office was her kitchen, and I created the Butter London polish range with $5,000 and a whole lot of hand mixing. I left everything to do this. I left my amazing job \u2014 that I had created all by myself, I left my beautiful London apartment, and most importantly, I left my British husband IN the apartment when I left, and we were long distance for TWO YEARS after.<\/p>\n

(Oh yeah, I married the rock star skater kid. Partially because I loved him, and partially because I was still really pissed at my parents)<\/p>\n

If you want to do great things with your life, you better be prepared to take some very real risks. Even today, any of my projects or companies could go down at any moment, and I\u2019ve crashed and burned as many times as I\u2019ve succeeded. Trying things is scary. You may go broke a couple of times. Check. You may fail publicly. Check. You may have your doctor tell you that your endocrine system is collapsing from chronic stress and fatigue. Double check. But then you have a hit. You create a company or product that takes off, and the money pours in, and you get to be a rock star after all. Man, that\u2019s a feeling that\u2019s just indescribable for a kid that grew up thinking she was a loser and a no-hoper.<\/p>\n

When I gave the commencement speech at my college, Scripps College, last year, and I opened by stating that I was probably the first straight C student to ever give the Commencement Address, so let me go all in here at Williston, and tell you that I was lucky<\/em><\/strong> if I ever made a C here.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t think for one SECOND that I wasn\u2019t learning. Grades are based on a series of tests that are meant to gauge academic progress. What they don\u2019t gauge is personal growth. Only you<\/strong> know how smart you really are, and only you<\/strong> can choose to use that intellect to succeed. Make good grades or don\u2019t, but PLEASE, I beg you, graduate!!!!<\/p>\n

PS: It turns out that I\u2019m super-duper smart, and I\u2019m able to operate in the business realm with NO business degree, and NO prior experience. Just a big mouth and a great education that taught me SO MUCH despite my many efforts to fail. So, if you didn\u2019t get into the college you wanted, or you\u2019re scared you won\u2019t, please know that you can still be the next Steve Jobs<\/a> (Don\u2019t drop out!), or Est\u00e9e Lauder<\/a>, or Donald Trump<\/a> \u2014 OK, I\u2019m totally kidding. I strictly forbid you from becoming the next Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Boarding school is a unique experience. People who don\u2019t go to boarding school can never really understand what it\u2019s like. You are forced to be an adult from a really young age. You have to manage situations where there would normally be an adult mediator, and you have to figure them out, in order to keep the peace. When I was living in Willy, I was a chubby Goth<\/a> kid. I listened to Dag Nasty<\/a> and Suicidal Tendencies<\/a> \u2014 thank you Pat Burns \u2014 and pierced my own ears weekly until there was no lobe left to pierce.<\/p>\n

Friendships saved my life. I came to Williston from a classic Southern day school where jocks and cheerleaders ruled, and anyone different got shut out.<\/p>\n

One of my best friends at Williston was a dude, a soccer jock named Ashley, who wore head to toe LL Bean<\/a> and although we had ZERO in common from a style standpoint, we loved and accepted each other completely. Everyone here did. Dee Griffin is still one of my best friends, and all I can say is that even as adult, she overlooks my Mohawk and the many bikers I bring to her NYC home and THANK GOD her fianc\u00e9 is a detective on NYPD<\/a>\u2019s finest, because, damn it all, bikers just love <\/em>to get arrested.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t take my word for it \u2014 my Willy tribe are all right here, right now, today, because first of all, YOU are my tribe, and whether you like it or not, you are stuck with me now. And also because several of my 40-something year old gang got on planes, trains, and automobiles to come and be with me here today as I give this speech \u2014\u00a025 years<\/em> after our commencement.<\/p>\n

Now THAT is what I call showing up Williston style!!!! <\/u><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important in high school and college to try stuff. That\u2019s why you are here. It\u2019s absolutely acceptable to be a punk one semester and a Prep the next. To try lacrosse one season, and then switch to advanced cigarette smoking (I was the captain of that team) Exploring different parts of your personality will be an asset when you are out in the real world. Do you know what WON\u2019T be an asset when you are out in the real world? A neck tattoo. Now there\u2019s a really bad idea.<\/p>\n

As a silver haired Rick-Owens<\/a>-wearing 44-year-old mom, who lives with a Grateful Dead<\/a> tattoo on her ass, and a piece of 1990s tribal work across her skull, I can tell you I\u2019m right on this one. In fact, I will give you a million bucks if you can call me up at 40 and tell me you love the tattoo you got at Off The Map. Pierce whatever you want \u2014 holes heal. And no, you can\u2019t just get tattoos removed. My Dead Head tramp stamp now looks like someone wiped it with Windex. \u201cRemoval\u201d made that thing BIGGER, not smaller \u2014 how is that even possible?<\/p>\n

Williston would not give up on me, even when I did. They knew I had smarts and knew I could make it, if I could just stay out of my own way long enough. They had to invent an entirely new level of triple-secret-last-chance-for-real-this-time probation for me when I went here, and there weren\u2019t enough clipboards in the world <\/em>to dissuade me from floating kegs down the Manhan<\/a> \u2014 which may be why they filled it in. Sorry.<\/p>\n

Every time I messed up, or self destructed, the Williston Administration would firmly, but kindly, step in, and remind me that I would not be happy if I got sent <\/em> home<\/em>. My home was here, and here is where I was kept safe and allowed to make mistakes in a controlled environment, so that I could learn from them and mature.<\/p>\n

We were a sort of self-governing group of teens. We had eachothers\u2019 backs, but when someone was acting like a jerk, they got schooled. Our dorm parents and the Admin were there to oversee, but most of my social skills and a lot of my business acumen were born after hours at Willy, or, let\u2019s be honest, Ford, since that\u2019s where I actually slept most of the time \u2014 where nightly forums on ALL subjects guided us toward adulthood.<\/p>\n

Those are skills that I have to use every day in my business now. Don\u2019t believe me? Then YOU try to tell Anna Wintour<\/a> that yes, this is your natural hair colour, and oh by the way, you forgot the custom mixed nail polish you made for her. Then run.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I retain more friendships from Williston than from any other period in my life and I\u2019ve lived, people. That\u2019s proof of how critical this place is, and how critical these relationships are to you at this stage of your life. There are limited \u201cgrown ups\u201d here, and although the ones that are here are awesome, it\u2019s YOU who are raising each other, and YOU are doing a really fucking good job.<\/p>\n

Go to college. Study all sorts of stuff, not just the stuff you think will land you the best employment. Remember that being an artist and being a business leader are NOT mutually exclusive. And above all, remember to trust yourself, because you are the most important person you know.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not lost on me that there are many people out there who might say a woman who won\u2019t dye her hair and wears a skinhead and a septum ring doesn\u2019t belong in the beauty industry, and certainly couldn\u2019t be the meaningful Founder of a multi-million dollar business.<\/p>\n

Well, because of the love and support I received right here, at Williston, I have the confidence to say \u201cScrew you, I can do anything I want.\u201d And so can you, and so WILL you.<\/p>\n

Congratulations Class of 2016! Go kick some ass.<\/p>\n

For purposes of\u00a0clarification, Butter London was founded in 2005 in Seattle WA. Nonie Creme came to the company several months later as Founding Creative Director, creating the now-famous nail lacquer line, and helping grow Butter London into a global entity.<\/p>\n

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When I was 15, I ran away from home. Now, as you\u2019ll get to know, when I decide to do something, I do not mess around, which is why our story begins in a Santa Fe jail cell. Turns out it\u2019s illegal to be a minor on the run 900 miles from home. It was … Continue reading Commencement Address by Nonie Creme ’90<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[133,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-speaker","category-commencement-address"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935\/revisions\/952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}