①Hi,everybody.Aniyah,thank you for that beautiful introduction.I could not be prouder of everything you have done in your time with the Obama Foundation.And,of course,I couldn't be prouder of all of you in the graduating Class of 2020,as well as the teachers and the coaches and most of all, parents and family who guided you along the way.Now,graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances.Some of you have had to overcome serious obstacles along the way,whether it was an illness, or a parent losing a job,or living in a neighbourhood where people too often count you out.Along with the usual challenges of growing up,all of you had to deal with the added pressures of social media,reports of school shootings, and the specter of climate change.

②And then,just as you're about to celebrate having made it through,just as you have been looking forward to proms and senior nights,graduation ceremonies,and,let's face it,a whole bunch of parties,the world is turned upside down by a global pandemic.And as much as I'm sure you love your parents,I will bet that being stuck at home with them and playing board games or watching Tiger King on TV is not exactly how you envisioned the last few months of your senior year.Now,I will be honest with you,the disappointments of missing a live graduation,those will pass pretty quick.I don't remember much of my own high school graduation.I know that not having to sit there and listen to a commencement speaker isn't all that bad.Mine usually go on way too long.Also,not that many people look great in those caps,especially if you have big ears like me.And you will have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over.

③But what remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood,the time when you begin to take charge of your own life.It's when you get to decide what's important to you,the kind of career you want to pursue,who you want to build a family with,the values you want to live by.And given the current state of the world,that may be kind of scary.If you'd planned on going away for college,getting dropped off at campus in the fall,that's no longer a given.If you were planning to work while going to school,finding that first job is going to be tougher.Even families that are relatively well off are dealing with massive uncertainty.Those who were struggling before,they're hanging on by a thread.All of which means that you're going to have to grow up faster than some generations.

④This pandemic has shaken up the status quo and laid bare a lot of our country's deep -seated problems,from massive economic inequality,to ongoing racial disparities,to a lack of basic health care for people who need it.It has woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don't work;that it doesn't matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick;and that our society and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves,but about each other.It has also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth,something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end.And all those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing?Turns out,they don't have all the answers.A lot of them aren't even asking the right questions.So,if the world's going to get better,it's going to be up to you.That realization may be kind of intimidating,but I hope it's also inspiring.

⑤With all the challenges this country faces right now,nobody can tell you,"no,you're too young to understand,"or "this is how it has always been done."Because with so much uncertainty,with everything suddenly up for grabs,this is your generation's world to shape.Since I'm one of the old guys,I won't tell you what to do with this power,that rests in your hands,but I will leave you with three quick pieces of advice.First,don't be afraid.America has gone through tough times before-slavery,civil war,famine,disease,the Great Depression,and 9/11.And each time we came out stronger,usually because a new generation,young people like you,learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.Second,do what you think is right.Doing what feels good,what's convenient,what's easy,that's how little kids think.Unfortunately,a lot of so-called grown-ups,including some with fancy titles and important jobs,still think that way,which is why things are so screwed up.

⑥I hope that instead,you decide to ground yourself in values that last,like honesty,hard work,responsibility,fairness,generosity,respect for others.You won't get it right every time,you will make mistakes like we all do,but if you listen to the truth that's inside yourself,even when it's hard,even when it's inconvenient,people will notice.They'll gravitate towards you.And you will be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.And finally,bulid a community.No one does big things by themselves.Right now,when people are scared,it's easy to be cynical and say let me just look out for myself,or my family,or people who look or think or pray like me.But if we're going to get through these difficult times;if we're going to create a world where everybody has opportunity to find a job and afford college;if we're going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics,then we're going to have to do it together.

⑦So be alive to be one another's struggles.Stand up for one another's rights.Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us-sexism,racial prejudice,status,greed-and set the world on a different path.When you need help,Michelle and I have made it the mission of our Foundation to give young people like you the skills and support to lead in your own communities,and to connect you with other young leaders around the country and around the globe.But the truth is,you don't need us to tell you what to do because in so many ways you've already started to lead.Congratulations, Class of 2020.Keep making us proud.

①大家好。阿尼耶，謝謝你漂亮的介紹。我對(duì)你在奧巴馬基金會(huì)工作期間所做的一切感到無(wú)比自豪。當(dāng)然，我為2020屆畢業(yè)班的所有人感到無(wú)比自豪，也為指導(dǎo)你們前進(jìn)的老師、教練和最重要的父母和家人感到驕傲?，F(xiàn)在，畢業(yè)在任何情況下都是一個(gè)巨大的成就。

②然后，就在你即將慶祝成功的時(shí)候，就在你期待著畢業(yè)舞會(huì)、畢業(yè)晚會(huì)、畢業(yè)典禮，以及，讓我們面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)吧，一大堆派對(duì)的時(shí)候，世界被一場(chǎng)全球性的流行病弄得天翻地覆。盡管我確信你愛(ài)你的父母，但我敢打賭，和他們呆在家里玩棋盤(pán)游戲或在電視上看《虎王》并不是你想象中的高三最后幾個(gè)月?，F(xiàn)在，我要對(duì)你說(shuō)實(shí)話，錯(cuò)過(guò)一次現(xiàn)場(chǎng)畢業(yè)典禮的失望，很快就會(huì)過(guò)去。我不太記得自己高中畢業(yè)的事了。我知道不必坐在那里聽(tīng)畢業(yè)典禮演講也沒(méi)那么糟糕。我的通常走得太長(zhǎng)。此外，戴這種帽子的人并不多，尤其是如果你像我一樣有一雙大耳朵的話。一旦直接的公共健康危機(jī)結(jié)束，你將有足夠的時(shí)間來(lái)趕上你的朋友。

③但仍然正確的是，你的畢業(yè)標(biāo)志著你進(jìn)入了成年，也就是你開(kāi)始掌控自己生活的時(shí)候。當(dāng)你決定什么對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)是重要的，你想追求什么樣的職業(yè)，你想和誰(shuí)建立家庭，你想賴(lài)以生存的價(jià)值觀。鑒于目前的世界狀況，這可能有點(diǎn)可怕。如果你打算離開(kāi)去上大學(xué)，秋天在校園里輟學(xué)，那就不再是既定的了。如果你打算一邊上學(xué)一邊工作，找到第一份工作將會(huì)更加困難。甚至相對(duì)富裕的家庭也在應(yīng)對(duì)巨大的不確定性。那些以前掙扎過(guò)的人，現(xiàn)在危在旦夕。所有這些都意味著你必須比幾代人更快地成長(zhǎng)。

④這一流行病動(dòng)搖了現(xiàn)狀，暴露了我國(guó)許多根深蒂固的問(wèn)題，從大規(guī)模的經(jīng)濟(jì)不平等，到持續(xù)的種族差異，再到需要的人缺乏基本醫(yī)療保健。它喚醒了許多年輕人，讓他們意識(shí)到舊的做事方式是行不通的；如果你周?chē)娜硕加逐I又病，你賺多少錢(qián)并不重要；我們的社會(huì)和我們的民主只有在我們不僅想到自己，而且想到彼此的時(shí)候才會(huì)起作用。它還拉開(kāi)了另一個(gè)嚴(yán)酷事實(shí)的帷幕，一旦我們的童年結(jié)束，我們最終都必須接受這個(gè)事實(shí)。你以前認(rèn)為的那些成年人是負(fù)責(zé)人，知道他們?cè)谧鍪裁?？結(jié)果是，他們并不知道所有的答案。很多人甚至沒(méi)有問(wèn)對(duì)問(wèn)題。所以，如果世界要變得更好，就要看你自己了。這種認(rèn)識(shí)可能有點(diǎn)嚇人，但我希望它也能鼓舞人心。

⑤面對(duì)這個(gè)國(guó)家目前面臨的所有挑戰(zhàn)，沒(méi)有人能告訴你，“不，你太年輕了，無(wú)法理解”，或者“這是一直以來(lái)的做法?！币?yàn)橛腥绱硕嗟牟淮_定性，所有東西都突然被搶走，這是你們這一代要塑造的世界。因?yàn)槲沂且粋€(gè)老家伙，我不會(huì)告訴你如何使用這種掌握在你手中的權(quán)力，但我會(huì)給你三條快速的建議。首先，不要害怕。美國(guó)經(jīng)歷了奴隸制、內(nèi)戰(zhàn)、饑荒、疾病、大蕭條和911之前的艱難時(shí)期。每次我們變得更強(qiáng)大，通常是因?yàn)橄衲氵@樣的新一代年輕人，從過(guò)去的錯(cuò)誤中吸取了教訓(xùn)，并找到了讓事情變得更好的方法。其次，做你認(rèn)為正確的事情。做感覺(jué)好、方便、容易的事情，這就是小孩子的想法。不幸的是，許多所謂的成年人，包括一些有著花哨頭銜和重要工作的人，仍然這樣認(rèn)為，這就是事情如此糟糕的原因。

⑥相反，我希望你決定將自己建立在持久的價(jià)值觀上，比如誠(chéng)實(shí)、勤奮、責(zé)任、公平、慷慨、尊重他人。你不會(huì)每次都做對(duì)，你會(huì)像我們一樣犯錯(cuò)，但是如果你傾聽(tīng)自己內(nèi)心的真相，即使很難，即使不方便，人們也會(huì)注意到。他們會(huì)被你吸引。你將成為解決方案的一部分，而不是問(wèn)題的一部分。最后，建立一個(gè)社區(qū)。沒(méi)有人能獨(dú)自做大事?，F(xiàn)在，當(dāng)人們害怕的時(shí)候，很容易變得憤世嫉俗，說(shuō)讓我為自己、我的家人或者像我一樣看起來(lái)、思考或者祈禱的人著想。但是如果我們要度過(guò)這些困難時(shí)期。如果我們要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造一個(gè)人人都有機(jī)會(huì)找到工作并負(fù)擔(dān)得起大學(xué)費(fèi)用的世界；如果我們要拯救環(huán)境，戰(zhàn)勝未來(lái)的流行病，那么我們就必須共同努力。

⑦所以，活著就是為了彼此的奮斗。維護(hù)彼此的權(quán)利。拋棄所有分裂我們的舊思維方式——性別歧視、種族偏見(jiàn)、地位、貪婪——讓世界走上不同的道路。當(dāng)你需要幫助的時(shí)候，米歇爾和我已經(jīng)把給像你這樣的年輕人技能和支持作為我們基金會(huì)的使命，讓他們?cè)谧约旱纳鐓^(qū)中發(fā)揮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)作用，并把你與全國(guó)和全球的其他年輕領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人聯(lián)系起來(lái)。但事實(shí)是，你不需要我們告訴你該做什么，因?yàn)樵诤芏喾矫婺阋呀?jīng)開(kāi)始領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了。祝賀你們，2020屆畢業(yè)生。繼續(xù)讓我們驕傲。