Sandra Bullock surprised the graduating class of Warren Easton Charter High School at their commencement ceremony Monday at the University of New Orleans’ Lakefront Arena.

“Please join me in a warm welcome for Sandra Bullock,” an announcer said as Bullock took the stage at the graduation. The entire arena cheered.

Sandra Bullock stunned in a plum dress that hugged her curves. The Gravity star has long been a big supporter of the school, especially after it had to close from 2005 to 2006 following Hurricane Katrina. It is the oldest public high school in Louisiana.

Bullock did a great job motivating the students and making them laugh, too.

“I didn’t remember anything because I was so worried about the future,” Bullock told the crowd of her own graduation. “I wasn’t present.”

She mentioned how someone recently asked her if she could go back and give her younger self some advice, what would it be?

“I wished someone had said to me what I’ve been spending the last four years, telling a little boy, who I love more than anything, who happens to be my son,” she explained of her adopted son Louis Bardo Bullock. “So I thought, ‘Maybe I will share that with you guys, that what I tell a 4-year-old, is what I wish someone had told me before I stepped out into the world.’

“The first thing is stop worrying so much,” she said. “Stop being scared of the unknown, because anything I worried about didn’t happen. Other stuff happened. The unknown we can’t do anything about.”

Her second point of advice was to “raise the bar higher.” She added, “It is noisy out there and for some reason, people want to see you fail. That’s not your problem, that is their problem. I only remember the moments where I tried beyond what I thought I could do and I do not remember the failures because I didn’t. Nothing’s a failure, it’s just not supposed to work out that way because something better is supposed to come along.”

“The third thing we work on [is] at home in the morning,” she shared. “We turn on the music really really loud before we leave the house. And the rule is, you have to dance a little bit before you step out in the world, because it changes the way you walk.”

Sandra Bullock shared additional funny words of advice that included eating “something green every day with every meal” and “do not pick your nose in public.”

More importantly, Bullock told the high school graduates to love their family and friends.

Really great advice on hugging from a Commencement speech by Sandra Bullock. Follow it! pic.twitter.com/a4hDzONpnQ

— Annie Sandor (@AnnieSandor) May 20, 2014

“When someone who cares about you hugs you?” Bullock said, “Hug them back with two arms. Don’t do the one-armed hug, because when you hug with two arms, it allows you to lean on somebody, and we always need somebody to lean on. If someone doesn’t want to play with you, it’s okay. Not everyone is going to love us, go find somebody who does want to play with you, and appreciates what you have to offer.”

Her parting words for the students going off to find their purpose in the big world was to “go find your joy.”

“It’s what you’re going to remember in the end. It’s not the worry, it’s not the what-ifs. It’s the joy that stays with you,” she said. “I want to thank you for the joy that Warren Easton brings me every day.”

If nothing more than laughter results from Sandra Bullock’s commencement speech, it will likely be enough for her. She appreciates humor and understands how much laughter lightens everyone’s load. Even if the students never remember a word the actress said as she addressed their graduating class, they’ll certainly never forget the surprise of seeing a Hollywood actress take the podium at their graduation.

Image via Wikimedia Commons