Michelle Obama's Commencement Address at Eastern Kentucky University
米歇尔·奥巴马在东肯塔基大学毕业典礼上的演讲

初次踏入大学校园的情景，总是让人难以忘怀。很多人怀着对大学的向往，憧憬着未来美好的时光。但是也有一些人，他们的家庭环境并不理想，甚至是连基本的生活费也无法保障。现代化的城市和校园带给他们的除了期待，还有陌生与不安。米歇尔·奥巴马曾经便是一位来自普通工薪阶层家庭的大学生，她用自己的亲身经历和感受证明，真正重要的不是家境是否富有，而在于我们的内心。

And for so many of you, I know that graduating from college was not a foregone conclusion. Some of you came from high schools that don't send a lot of kids to college. Some of you had to work full time so that you could not only pay for your degree, but also support your family. And so many of you, as I have seen, are first in your families to graduate from college.

So I know you faced all kinds of doubts and uncertainties when you first showed up on this campus. And I know a little bit about that from my own experiences. As you've heard, my parents were working folks who never earned a degree past high school. They didn't have a lot of money, so sending me and my brother to school was a huge sacrifice for them. The vast majority of our tuition came from loans and grants, but let me tell you, every month, my father would write out his small check. He was determined to pay his portion of that tuition right on time, even if it meant taking out loans when he fell short.

See, what our parents had to offer us was a whole lot of love. And while we could always call home and talk through the ups and downs of our lives with our parents, the truth is they couldn't give us a lot more than that. They couldn't give us a lot of guidance when it came to choosing classes and professors, or finding internships and jobs.

So when I first set foot on college, my campus, it was all a bit of a mystery to me. And honestly, in the back of my mind, I couldn't shake the voices from some of the people at my high school who told me that I could never make it at the school I'd chosen. When I first set foot on campus, oh, it all seemed so big and overwhelming. I didn't even know where to start—how to pick out the right classes, how to even find the right buildings. So I began to think that maybe all those doubters might have been right.

But when you come from a family like mine, that's what you do. You make the most of what you've got. You use all that good common sense and you don't make excuses. You work hard, and you always finish what you start. And no matter what, you give everybody a fair shake, and when somebody needs a hand, you offer yours.

See, those were the gifts my parents gave me—their values. And I quickly learned that those gifts were far more valuable than money or connections. Because once I got to college, I found that when I applied all those values to my studies, I was able to set—develop an entirely new set of skills that I would use for the rest of my life—skills like resilience, problem solving, time management.

I learned to turn stumbles and missteps into sources of motivation. A week with three tests and two papers wasn't a reason to stress out, but a reason to plan. A negative comment from a professor in class wasn't a reason to shut down, but a reason to ask even more questions.

Most importantly, I realized that what really mattered wasn't how much money my parents made or what those people in my high school said about me. What mattered was what was in my mind and what was in my heart. So my four years in school gave me the confidence to know that if I could make it on a college campus, I could make it anywhere.

我知道，对于你们当中的许多人来说，大学毕业并不是早已确定的事情。你们当中，有一些人来自没有多少孩子能上大学的高中，有一些人不得不全职工作，这样你们不仅可以支付学费，还可以养家。正如我所看到的，你们当中有很多人，是你们家里第一个从大学毕业的人。

所以我知道，当你们第一次出现在这个校园时，会面对各种各样的怀疑和不确定。我对此有些许了解，是因为我也曾有过这样的经历。正如你们所听说过的那样，我的父母都是普通劳动者，他们从来没有上过高中。他们没有多少钱，所以送我和我弟弟上学需要他们做出巨大的牺牲。我们大部分的学费来自贷款和补助金，但我告诉你们，每个月，我父亲都会开出他的小额支票。他决心按时支付他所负担的那部分学费，即使是这意味着在他缺钱的时候要去贷款。

可以看到，我们的父母为我们提供的是满满的爱。虽然我们总是可以打电话回家，和我们的父母谈论我们生活的起起落落，但事实是他们不能给我们更多的东西。在选择课程和教授，或者找实习机会和工作时，他们不能给予我们很多指导。

所以当我第一次踏进校园，我的校园，对我来说完全是一个神秘的存在。坦白地说，在我的脑海里，我无法动摇我高中时期的一些人的声音，他们告诉我，我完全不可能从我所选择的学校顺利毕业。当我第一次踏进校园的时候，哦，这一切似乎都是那么的恢弘和势不可挡。我甚至不知道从哪里开始——如何挑选合适的课程，如何找到正确的大楼。所以我开始想也许所有那些怀疑论者都是对的。

但当你来自一个像我这样的家庭时，这就会是你的写照。你会充分利用你所拥有的一切。你会使用所有正确的常识，你不会找借口。你会努力工作，并总是善始善终。无论如何，你给每个人一个均等的机会，当有人需要帮助时，你会伸出援助之手。

看见了吧，那些就是我父母给我的礼物——他们的价值观。我很快就认识到这些礼物远比金钱或人脉更有价值。因为一旦我上了大学，我发现当我把所有这些价值观都应用到我的学业上时，我就能开发出一套全新的技能，这些技能将伴随我的余生，比如适应能力、解决问题的能力、时间管理能力。

我学会了把跌倒和失误变成动力的来源。一周有三次考试和两篇论文不是让你紧张的理由，而是你需要做计划的理由。在课堂上，教授的负面评价不是闭口不言的理由，而是提出更多问题的理由。

最重要的是，我意识到真正重要的不是我的父母挣了多少钱，也不是我上高中时那些人对我说了什么。重要的是我的思想里，我的心中，都有些什么。所以我在大学的四年让我有信心知道，如果我能在大学校园里成功，那么在别的任何地方也可以。

巧记词汇

foregone [ˈfɔːɡɒn] a. 预先决定的

【拓】foregone conclusion 预料中的必然结局

folk [fəʊk] n. 人 a. 民间的

【拓】fold [fəʊld] v. 折叠

grant [ɡrɑːnt] n. 补助金 v. 准予；授予；承认

【拓】grand [ɡrænd] a. 宏伟的

internship [ˈɪntɜːnʃɪp] n. 实习生的职位；实习期

【拓】intern [ɪnˈtɜːn] n. 实习生

overwhelming [ˌəʊvəˈwelmɪŋ] a. 势不可挡的

【拓】overwhelm [ˌəʊvəˈwelm] v. 使不知所措

doubter [ˈdaʊtə(r)] n. 抱怀疑态度的人

【拓】doubt [daʊt] v./n. 怀疑

resilience [rɪˈzɪliəns] n. 适应力

【拓】adapt [əˈdæpt] v. 适应

misstep [ˌmɪsˈstep] n. 差错；失误

【拓】stumble [ˈstʌmbl] n. 绊倒；差错

趣学短语

be determined to do sth. 下定决心做某事

【例】He is determined to read as much as he can because he is convinced that if he reads enough, he can better explore the world. 他下定决心尽可能地多阅读，因为他确信，如果他阅读的内容足够多，就能更好地探索这个世界。