公众人物毕业演讲第206期:杰雷诺2014爱默生学院(4)

And Emerson gave me that opportunity

Plus I learned stuff, I learned real stuff

I remember taking a black history course

and reading James Baldwin and Dick Gregory

and for the first time in my life

I realized all the things I didn't know

I mean, I always knew I couldn't do math

but I had no idea I was this clueless

My problem was at that time, Emerson College had no stand-up comedy program

I tried out for the drama department

but was intimidated and I just failed miserably

So rather than try again, I got a chip on my shoulder

to the attitude, oh, this is going to be on the test

I was right, they were wrong, I'll show them

I won't learn anything

So I kind of turned my back on Emerson

and decided to try and go it alone

I mean, I didn't drop out or anything like that

I just did the basic minimum necessary to get by

So then I literally went door-to-door trying to be a comedian

You know Boston was a very serious place

especially students in the 60s and 70s

Most clubs did a lot of stop you warm machine music and that kind of stuff

with the exception of maybe George Carlin and Richard Pryor

most comedy didn't really fit in with college students

I will go to music clubs and I tell them, I'm a comedian

and they said, get lost

And then I put a $50 bill on the bar and I'd say

look, if people leave, you keep the 50

but if they laugh and stay, give me my 50 back

And that worked out hard at the time

Sometimes it was just gut wrenching

There was just one club I went to said, you're in union?

I said no I didn't know there was union

They said, oh yeah, I can't hire you unless you're in union

He said, go and see my friend at the after office over that street down