Gal Gadot has urged young people to "trust" themselves.
The ‘Wonder Woman’ actress gave a moving speech as part of CNN’s ‘Class of 2020: In This Together’ special on Saturday (16.05.20), in which she addressed the American students who are graduating from college this year, but have had their official graduation ceremonies cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And in her message, Gal assured young people that "anything is possible", and urged them to head out into the world to put their dreams into action.
She said: "Hey everyone, I’m Gal Gadot, and I’m so honoured to be able to personally congratulate you, the class of 2020 on your graduation.
"As a child of a teacher and an engineer, I grew up understanding very well the value and the power of education. And now with this moment in your life, when school is done but your next steps are unclear in this somewhat uncertain world, you might feel powerless at times. So I urge you to think of these words: ‘Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.’ Those words were spoken by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. She was the first female prime minister for Israel, and these words had a profound influence on many young people like myself growing up in Israel."
Gal, 35, admitted the path may not be "simple" for people, but said "work, drive, and confidence" could have make anything happen.
She continued: "Now the idea seems so simple. But to put it into action isn’t always as simple, because it’s not always as easy as deciding to be happy or deciding to do what’s right. Fanning those flames takes more than desire. It takes even more work, drive, confidence and resources and the ability to go on even when there are those who will tell you it’s not possible, you shouldn’t, you couldn’t."
The star closed her message by reminding graduates they are about to begin their "future", and told them to "create [their] own special story in the world".
She said: "Well I want to tell you, you can. Anything is possible and now is your time to start and create your own special story in the world. I’m telling you there is nothing you cannot do if you put your heart and mind and all that you have learned into it. You know to me, Wonder Woman is a fighter, but it’s what she fights for that matters. So fight for your place in this world because you’ve earned it, you’ve worked so hard to get to this moment and no matter how unclear our future may seem, your future is bright and it starts today. Congratulations."