奧巴馬菲爾德高中演講

奧巴馬菲爾德高中演講奧巴馬菲爾德高中演講奧巴馬菲爾德高中演講V:1.0精細(xì)整理，僅供參考奧巴馬菲爾德高中演講日期：20xx年X月奧巴馬在韋克菲爾德高中開學(xué)時(shí)的演講經(jīng)貿(mào)外語學(xué)院英語一班葉委課堂演講稿嗨，大家好！你們今天過得怎么樣？我現(xiàn)在和弗吉尼亞州阿林頓郡韋克菲爾德高中的學(xué)生們?cè)谝黄?，全國各地也有從幼兒園到高三的眾多學(xué)生們通過電視關(guān)注這里，我很高興你們能共同分享這一時(shí)刻。

我知道，對(duì)你們中的許多人來說，今天是開學(xué)的第一天，你們中的有一些剛剛進(jìn)入幼兒園或升上初高中，對(duì)你們來說，這是在新學(xué)校的第一天，因此，假如你們感到有些緊張，那也是很正常的。我想也會(huì)有許多畢業(yè)班的學(xué)生們正自信滿滿地準(zhǔn)備最后一年的沖刺。不過，我想無論你有多大、在讀哪個(gè)年級(jí)，許多人都打心底里希望現(xiàn)在還在放暑假，以及今天不用那么早起床。

我可以理解這份心情。小時(shí)候，我們家在印度尼西亞住過幾年，而我媽媽沒錢送我去其他美國孩子們上學(xué)的地方去讀書，因此她決定自己給我上課——時(shí)間是每周一到周五的凌晨4點(diǎn)半。

顯然，我不怎么喜歡那么早就爬起來，很多時(shí)候，我就這么在廚房的桌子前睡著了。每當(dāng)我埋怨的時(shí)候，我媽總會(huì)用同一副表情看著我說：“小鬼，你以為教你我就很輕松？”

所以，我可以理解你們中的許多人對(duì)于開學(xué)還需要時(shí)間來調(diào)整和適應(yīng)，但今天我站在這里，是為了和你們談一些重要的事情。我要和你們談一談你們每個(gè)人的教育，以及在新的學(xué)年里，你們應(yīng)當(dāng)做些什么。

我做過許多關(guān)于教育的講話，也常常用到“責(zé)任”這個(gè)詞。

我談到過教師們有責(zé)任激勵(lì)和啟迪你們，督促你們學(xué)習(xí)。

我談到過家長們有責(zé)任看管你們認(rèn)真學(xué)習(xí)、完成作業(yè)，不要成天只會(huì)看電視或打游戲機(jī)。

我也很多次談到過政府有責(zé)任設(shè)定高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)嚴(yán)要求、協(xié)助老師和校長們的工作，改變?cè)谟行W(xué)校里學(xué)生得不到應(yīng)有的學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)的現(xiàn)狀。

但哪怕這一切都達(dá)到最好，哪怕我們有最盡職的教師、最好的家長、和最優(yōu)秀的學(xué)校，假如你們不去履行自己的責(zé)任的話，那么這一切努力都會(huì)白費(fèi)。——除非你每天準(zhǔn)時(shí)去上學(xué)、除非你認(rèn)真地聽老師講課、除非你把父母、長輩和其他大人們說的話放在心上、除非你肯付出成功所必需的努力，否則這一切都會(huì)失去意義。

而這就是我今天講話的主題：對(duì)于自己的教育，你們中每一個(gè)人的責(zé)任。首先，我想談?wù)勀銈儗?duì)于自己有什么責(zé)任。

你們中的每一個(gè)人都會(huì)有自己擅長的東西，每一個(gè)人都是有用之材，而發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才能是什么，就是你們要對(duì)自己擔(dān)起的責(zé)任。教育給你們提供了發(fā)現(xiàn)自己才能的機(jī)會(huì)。

或許你能寫出優(yōu)美的文字——甚至有一天能讓那些文字出現(xiàn)在書籍和報(bào)刊上——但假如不在英語課上經(jīng)常練習(xí)寫作，你不會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成為一個(gè)發(fā)明家、創(chuàng)造家——甚至設(shè)計(jì)出像今天的iPhone一樣流行的產(chǎn)品，或研制出新的藥物與疫苗——但假如不在自然科學(xué)課程上做上幾次實(shí)驗(yàn)，你不會(huì)知道自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成為一名議員或最高法院法官，但假如你不去加入什么學(xué)生會(huì)或參加幾次辯論賽，你也不會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才能。

而且，我可以向你保證，不管你將來想要做什么，你都需要相應(yīng)的教育?！阆氘?dāng)名醫(yī)生、當(dāng)名教師或當(dāng)名警官你想成為護(hù)士、成為建筑設(shè)計(jì)師、律師或軍人無論你選擇哪一種職業(yè)，良好的教育都必不可少，這世上不存在不把書念完就能拿到好工作的美夢，任何工作，都需要你的汗水、訓(xùn)練與學(xué)習(xí)。

不僅僅對(duì)于你們個(gè)人的未來有重要意義，你們的教育如何也會(huì)對(duì)這個(gè)國家、乃至世界的未來產(chǎn)生重要影響。今天你們?cè)趯W(xué)校中學(xué)習(xí)的內(nèi)容，將會(huì)決定我們整個(gè)國家在未來迎接重大挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)的表現(xiàn)。

你們需要在數(shù)理科學(xué)課程上學(xué)習(xí)的知識(shí)和技能，去治療癌癥、艾滋那樣的疾病，和解決我們面臨的能源問題與環(huán)境問題；你們需要在歷史社科課程上培養(yǎng)出的觀察力與判斷力，來減輕和消除無家可歸與貧困、犯罪問題和各種歧視，讓這個(gè)國家變得更加公平和自由；你們需要在各類課程中逐漸累積和發(fā)展出來的創(chuàng)新意識(shí)和思維，去創(chuàng)業(yè)和建立新的公司與企業(yè)，來制造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)和推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長。

我們需要你們中的每一個(gè)人都培養(yǎng)和發(fā)展自己的天賦、技能和才智，來解決我們所面對(duì)的最困難的問題。假如你不這么做——假如你放棄學(xué)習(xí)——那么你不僅是放棄了自己，也是放棄了你的國家。

當(dāng)然，我明白，讀好書并不總是件容易的事。我知道你們中的許多人在生活中面臨著各種各樣的問題，很難把精力集中在專心讀書之上。

我知道你們的感受。我父親在我兩歲時(shí)就離開了家庭，是母親一人將我們拉扯大，有時(shí)她付不起帳單，有時(shí)我們得不到其他孩子們都有的東西，有時(shí)我會(huì)想，假如父親在該多好，有時(shí)我會(huì)感到孤獨(dú)無助，與周圍的環(huán)境格格不入。

因此我并不總是能專心學(xué)習(xí)，我做過許多自己覺得丟臉的事情，也惹出過許多不該惹的麻煩，我的生活岌岌可危，隨時(shí)可能急轉(zhuǎn)直下。

但我很幸運(yùn)。我在許多事上都得到了重來的機(jī)會(huì)，我得到了去大學(xué)讀法學(xué)院、實(shí)現(xiàn)自己夢想的機(jī)會(huì)。我的妻子——現(xiàn)在得叫她第一夫人米歇爾?奧巴馬了——也有著相似的人生故事，她的父母都沒讀過大學(xué)，也沒有什么財(cái)產(chǎn)，但他們和她都辛勤工作，好讓她有機(jī)會(huì)去這個(gè)國家最優(yōu)秀的學(xué)校讀書。

你們中有些人可能沒有這些有利條件，或許你的生活中沒有能為你提供幫助和支持的長輩，或許你的某個(gè)家長沒有工作、經(jīng)濟(jì)拮據(jù)，或許你住的社區(qū)不那么安全，或許你認(rèn)識(shí)一些會(huì)對(duì)你產(chǎn)生不良影響的朋友，等等。

但歸根結(jié)底，你的生活狀況——你的長相、出身、經(jīng)濟(jì)條件、家庭氛圍——都不是疏忽學(xué)業(yè)和態(tài)度惡劣的借口，這些不是你去跟老師頂嘴、逃課、或是輟學(xué)的借口，這些不是你不好好讀書的借口。

你的未來，并不取決于你現(xiàn)在的生活有多好或多壞。沒有人為你編排好你的命運(yùn)，在美國，你的命運(yùn)由你自己書寫，你的未來由你自己掌握。

而在這片土地上的每個(gè)地方，千千萬萬和你一樣的年輕人正是這樣在書寫著自己的命運(yùn)。

例如德克薩斯州羅馬市的賈斯敏?佩雷茲（JasminPerez）。剛進(jìn)學(xué)校時(shí)，她根本不會(huì)說英語，她住的地方幾乎沒人上過大學(xué)，她的父母也沒有受過高等教育，但她努力學(xué)習(xí)，取得了優(yōu)異的成績，靠獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金進(jìn)入了布朗大學(xué)，如今正在攻讀公共衛(wèi)生專業(yè)的博士學(xué)位。

我還想起了加利福尼亞州洛斯拉圖斯市的安多尼?舒爾茲（AndoniSchultz），他從三歲起就開始與腦癌病魔做斗爭，他熬過了一次次治療與手術(shù)——其中一次影響了他的記憶，因此他得花出比常人多幾百個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)間來完成學(xué)業(yè)，但他從不曾落下自己的功課。這個(gè)秋天，他要開始在大學(xué)讀書了。

又比如在我的家鄉(xiāng)，伊利諾斯州芝加哥市，身為孤兒的香特爾?史蒂夫（ShantellSteve）換過多次收養(yǎng)家庭，從小在治安很差的地區(qū)長大，但她努力爭取到了在當(dāng)?shù)乇＝≌竟ぷ鞯臋C(jī)會(huì)、發(fā)起了一個(gè)讓青少年遠(yuǎn)離犯罪團(tuán)伙的項(xiàng)目，很快，她也將以優(yōu)異的成績從中學(xué)畢業(yè)，去大學(xué)深造。

賈斯敏、安多尼和香特爾與你們并沒有什么不同。和你們一樣，他們也在生活中遭遇各種各樣的困難與問題，但他們拒絕放棄，他們選擇為自己的教育擔(dān)起責(zé)任、給自己定下奮斗的目標(biāo)。我希望你們中的每一個(gè)人，都能做得到這些。

因此，在今天，我號(hào)召你們每一個(gè)人都為自己的教育定下一個(gè)目標(biāo)——并在之后，盡自己的一切努力去實(shí)現(xiàn)它。你的目標(biāo)可以很簡單，像是完成作業(yè)、認(rèn)真聽講或每天閱讀——或許你打算參加一些課外活動(dòng)，或在社區(qū)做些志愿工作；或許你決定為那些因?yàn)殚L相或出身等等原因而受嘲弄或欺負(fù)的孩子做主、維護(hù)他們的權(quán)益，因?yàn)槟愫臀乙粯?，認(rèn)為每個(gè)孩子都應(yīng)該能有一個(gè)安全的學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境；或許你認(rèn)為該學(xué)著更好的照顧自己，來為將來的學(xué)習(xí)做準(zhǔn)備……當(dāng)然，除此之外，我希望你們都多多洗手、感到身體不舒服的時(shí)候要多在家休息，免得大家在秋冬感冒高發(fā)季節(jié)都得流感。

不管你決定做什么，我都希望你能堅(jiān)持到底，希望你能真的下定決心。

我知道有些時(shí)候，電視上播放的節(jié)目會(huì)讓你產(chǎn)生這樣那樣的錯(cuò)覺，似乎你不需要付出多大的努力就能腰纏萬貫、功成名就——你會(huì)認(rèn)為只要會(huì)唱rap、會(huì)打籃球或參加個(gè)什么真人秀節(jié)目就能坐享其成，但現(xiàn)實(shí)是，你幾乎沒有可能走上其中任何一條道路。

因?yàn)?，成功是件難事。你不可能對(duì)要讀的每門課程都興趣盎然，你不可能和每名帶課教師都相處順利，你也不可能每次都遇上看起來和現(xiàn)實(shí)生活有關(guān)的作業(yè)。而且，并不是每件事，你都能在頭一次嘗試時(shí)獲得成功。

但那沒有關(guān)系。因?yàn)樵谶@個(gè)世界上，最最成功的人們往往也經(jīng)歷過最多的失敗。J.K.羅琳的第一本《哈利?波特》被出版商拒絕了十二次才最終出版；邁克爾?喬丹上高中時(shí)被學(xué)校的籃球隊(duì)刷了下來，在他的職業(yè)生涯里，他輸了幾百場比賽、投失過幾千次射籃，知道他是怎么說的嗎？“我一生不停地失敗、失敗再失敗，這就是我現(xiàn)在成功的原因?！?/p>

他們的成功，源于他們明白人不能讓失敗左右自己——而是要從中吸取經(jīng)驗(yàn)。從失敗中，你可以明白下一次自己可以做出怎樣的改變；假如你惹了什么麻煩，那并不說明你就是個(gè)搗蛋貴，而是在提醒你，在將來要對(duì)自己有更嚴(yán)格的要求；假如你考了個(gè)低分，那并不說明你就比別人笨，而是在告訴你，自己得在學(xué)習(xí)上花更多的時(shí)間。

沒有哪一個(gè)人一生出來就擅長做什么事情的，只有努力才能培養(yǎng)出技能。任何人都不是在第一次接觸一項(xiàng)體育運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)就成為校隊(duì)的代表，任何人都不是在第一次唱一首歌時(shí)就找準(zhǔn)每一個(gè)音，一切都需要熟能生巧。對(duì)于學(xué)業(yè)也是一樣，你或許要反復(fù)運(yùn)算才能解出一道數(shù)學(xué)題的正確答案，你或許需要讀一段文字好幾遍才能理解它的意思，你或許得把論文改上好幾次才能符合提交的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。這都是很正常的。

不要害怕提問。不要不敢向他人求助?！颐刻於荚谶@么做。求助并不是軟弱的表現(xiàn)，恰恰相反，它說明你有勇氣承認(rèn)自己的不足、并愿意去學(xué)習(xí)新的知識(shí)。所以，有不懂時(shí)，就向大人們求助吧——找個(gè)你信得過的對(duì)象，例如父母、長輩、老師、教練或輔導(dǎo)員——讓他們幫助你向目標(biāo)前進(jìn)。

你要記住，哪怕你表現(xiàn)不好、哪怕你失去信心、哪怕你覺得身邊的人都已經(jīng)放棄了你——永遠(yuǎn)不要自己放棄自己。因?yàn)楫?dāng)你放棄自己的時(shí)候，你也放棄了自己的國家。

美國不是一個(gè)人們?cè)庥隼щy就輕易放棄的國度，在這個(gè)國家，人們堅(jiān)持到底、人們加倍努力，為了他們所熱愛的國度，每一個(gè)人都盡著自己最大的努力，不會(huì)給自己留任何余地。

250年前，有一群和你們一樣的學(xué)生，他們之后奮起努力、用一場革命最終造就了這個(gè)國家；75年前，有一群和你們一樣的學(xué)生，他們之后戰(zhàn)勝了大蕭條、贏得了二戰(zhàn)；就在20年前，和你們一樣的學(xué)生們，他們后來創(chuàng)立了Google、Twitter和Facebook，改變了我們?nèi)伺c人之間溝通的方式。

因此，今天我想要問你們，你們會(huì)做出什么樣的貢獻(xiàn)你們將解決什么樣的難題你們能發(fā)現(xiàn)什么樣的事物二十、五十或百年之后，假如那時(shí)的美國總統(tǒng)也來做一次開學(xué)演講的話，他會(huì)怎樣描述你們對(duì)這個(gè)國家所做的一切

你們的家長、你們的老師和我，每一個(gè)人都在盡最大的努力，確保你們都能得到應(yīng)有的教育來回答這些問題。例如我正在努力為你們提供更安全的教室、更多的書籍、更先進(jìn)的設(shè)施與計(jì)算機(jī)。但你們也要擔(dān)起自己的責(zé)任。因此我要求你們?cè)诮衲昴軌蛘J(rèn)真起來，我要求你們盡心地去做自己著手的每一件事，我要求你們每一個(gè)人都有所成就。請(qǐng)不要讓我們失望——不要讓你的家人、你的國家和你自己失望。你們要成為我們驕傲，我知道，你們一定可以做到。

謝謝大家，上帝保佑你們，上帝保佑美國。弗吉尼亞州，阿林頓市2009年9月8日For

Immediate

Release

September

8,

2009

REMARKS

BY

THE

PRESIDENT

IN

A

NATIONAL

ADDRESS

TO

AMERICA'S

SCHOOLCHILDREN

Wakefield

High

School

Arlington,

Virginia

THE

PRESIDENT:

Hello,

everybody!

Thank

you.

Thank

you.

Thank

you,

everybody.

All

right,

everybody

go

ahead

and

have

a

seat.

How

is

everybody

doing

today?

(Applause.)

How

about

Tim

Spicer?

(Applause.)

I

am

here

with

students

at

Wakefield

High

School

in

Arlington,

Virginia.

And

we've

got

students

tuning

in

from

all

across

America,

from

kindergarten

through

12th

grade.

And

I

am

just

so

glad

that

all

could

join

us

today.

And

I

want

to

thank

Wakefield

for

being

such

an

outstanding

host.

Give

yourselves

a

big

round

of

applause.

(Applause.)

I

know

that

for

many

of

you,

today

is

the

first

day

of

school.

And

for

those

of

you

in

kindergarten,

or

starting

middle

or

high

school,

it's

your

first

day

in

a

new

school,

so

it's

understandable

if

you're

a

little

nervous.

I

imagine

there

are

some

seniors

out

there

who

are

feeling

pretty

good

right

now

--

(applause)

--

with

just

one

more

year

to

go.

And

no

matter

what

grade

you're

in,

some

of

you

are

probably

wishing

it

were

still

summer

and

you

could've

stayed

in

bed

just

a

little

bit

longer

this

morning.

I

know

that

feeling.

When

I

was

young,

my

family

lived

overseas.

I

lived

in

Indonesia

for

a

few

years.

And

my

mother,

she

didn't

have

the

money

to

send

me

where

all

the

American

kids

went

to

school,

but

she

thought

it

was

important

for

me

to

keep

up

with

an

American

education.

So

she

decided

to

teach

me

extra

lessons

herself,

Monday

through

Friday.

But

because

she

had

to

go

to

work,

the

only

time

she

could

do

it

was

at

4:30

in

the

morning.

Now,

as

you

might

imagine,

I

wasn't

too

happy

about

getting

up

that

early.

And

a

lot

of

times,

I'd

fall

asleep

right

there

at

the

kitchen

table.

But

whenever

I'd

complain,

my

mother

would

just

give

me

one

of

those

looks

and

she'd

say,

"This

is

no

picnic

for

me

either,

buster."

(Laughter.)

So

I

know

that

some

of

you

are

still

adjusting

to

being

back

at

school.

But

I'm

here

today

because

I

have

something

important

to

discuss

with

you.

I'm

here

because

I

want

to

talk

with

you

about

your

education

and

what's

expected

of

all

of

you

in

this

new

school

year.

Now,

I've

given

a

lot

of

speeches

about

education.

And

I've

talked

about

responsibility

a

lot.

I've

talked

about

teachers'

responsibility

for

inspiring

students

and

pushing

you

to

learn.

I've

talked

about

your

parents'

responsibility

for

making

sure

you

stay

on

track,

and

you

get

your

homework

done,

and

don't

spend

every

waking

hour

in

front

of

the

TV

or

with

the

Xbox.

I've

talked

a

lot

about

your

government's

responsibility

for

setting

high

standards,

and

supporting

teachers

and

principals,

and

turning

around

schools

that

aren't

working,

where

students

aren't

getting

the

opportunities

that

they

deserve.

But

at

the

end

of

the

day,

we

can

have

the

most

dedicated

teachers,

the

most

supportive

parents,

the

best

schools

in

the

world

--

and

none

of

it

will

make

a

difference,

none

of

it

will

matter

unless

all

of

you

fulfill

your

responsibilities,

unless

you

show

up

to

those

schools,

unless

you

pay

attention

to

those

teachers,

unless

you

listen

to

your

parents

and

grandparents

and

other

adults

and

put

in

the

hard

work

it

takes

to

succeed.

That's

what

I

want

to

focus

on

today:

the

responsibility

each

of

you

has

for

your

education.

I

want

to

start

with

the

responsibility

you

have

to

yourself.

Every

single

one

of

you

has

something

that

you're

good

at.

Every

single

one

of

you

has

something

to

offer.

And

you

have

a

responsibility

to

yourself

to

discover

what

that

is.

That's

the

opportunity

an

education

can

provide.

Maybe

you

could

be

a

great

writer

--

maybe

even

good

enough

to

write

a

book

or

articles

in

a

newspaper

--

but

you

might

not

know

it

until

you

write

that

English

paper

--

that

English

class

paper

that's

assigned

to

you.

Maybe

you

could

be

an

innovator

or

an

inventor

--

maybe

even

good

enough

to

come

up

with

the

next

iPhone

or

the

new

medicine

or

vaccine

--

but

you

might

not

know

it

until

you

do

your

project

for

your

science

class.

Maybe

you

could

be

a

mayor

or

a

senator

or

a

Supreme

Court

justice

--

but

you

might

not

know

that

until

you

join

student

government

or

the

debate

team.

And

no

matter

what

you

want

to

do

with

your

life,

I

guarantee

that

you'll

need

an

education

to

do

it.

You

want

to

be

a

doctor,

or

a

teacher,

or

a

police

officer?

You

want

to

be

a

nurse

or

an

architect,

a

lawyer

or

a

member

of

our

military?

You're

going

to

need

a

good

education

for

every

single

one

of

those

careers.

You

cannot

drop

out

of

school

and

just

drop

into

a

good

job.

You've

got

to

train

for

it

and

work

for

it

and

learn

for

it.

And

this

isn't

just

important

for

your

own

life

and

your

own

future.

What

you

make

of

your

education

will

decide

nothing

less

than

the

future

of

this

country.

The

future

of

America

depends

on

you.

What

you're

learning

in

school

today

will

determine

whether

we

as

a

nation

can

meet

our

greatest

challenges

in

the

future.

You'll

need

the

knowledge

and

problem-solving

skills

you

learn

in

science

and

math

to

cure

diseases

like

cancer

and

AIDS,

and

to

develop

new

energy

technologies

and

protect

our

environment.

You'll

need

the

insights

and

critical-thinking

skills

you

gain

in

history

and

social

studies

to

fight

poverty

and

homelessness,

crime

and

discrimination,

and

make

our

nation

more

fair

and

more

free.

You'll

need

the

creativity

and

ingenuity

you

develop

in

all

your

classes

to

build

new

companies

that

will

create

new

jobs

and

boost

our

economy.

We

need

every

single

one

of

you

to

develop

your

talents

and

your

skills

and

your

intellect

so

you

can

help

us

old

folks

solve

our

most

difficult

problems.

If

you

don't

do

that

--

if

you

quit

on

school

--

you're

not

just

quitting

on

yourself,

you're

quitting

on

your

country.

Now,

I

know

it's

not

always

easy

to

do

well

in

school.

I

know

a

lot

of

you

have

challenges

in

your

lives

right

now

that

can

make

it

hard

to

focus

on

your

schoolwork.

I

get

it.

I

know

what

it's

like.

My

father

left

my

family

when

I

was

two

years

old,

and

I

was

raised

by

a

single

mom

who

had

to

work

and

who

struggled

at

times

to

pay

the

bills

and

wasn't

always

able

to

give

us

the

things

that

other

kids

had.

There

were

times

when

I

missed

having

a

father

in

my

life.

There

were

times

when

I

was

lonely

and

I

felt

like

I

didn't

fit

in.

So

I

wasn't

always

as

focused

as

I

should

have

been

on

school,

and

I

did

some

things

I'm

not

proud

of,

and

I

got

in

more

trouble

than

I

should

have.

And

my

life

could

have

easily

taken

a

turn

for

the

worse.

But

I

was

--

I

was

lucky.

I

got

a

lot

of

second

chances,

and

I

had

the

opportunity

to

go

to

college

and

law

school

and

follow

my

dreams.

My

wife,

our

First

Lady

Michelle

Obama,

she

has

a

similar

story.

Neither

of

her

parents

had

gone

to

college,

and

they

didn't

have

a

lot

of

money.

But

they

worked

hard,

and

she

worked

hard,

so

that

she

could

go

to

the

best

schools

in

this

country.

Some

of

you

might

not

have

those

advantages.

Maybe

you

don't

have

adults

in

your

life

who

give

you

the

support

that

you

need.

Maybe

someone

in

your

family

has

lost

their

job

and

there's

not

enough

money

to

go

around.

Maybe

you

live

in

a

neighborhood

where

you

don't

feel

safe,

or

have

friends

who

are

pressuring

you

to

do

things

you

know

aren't

right.

But

at

the

end

of

the

day,

the

circumstances

of

your

life

--

what

you

look

like,

where

you

come

from,

how

much

money

you

have,

what

you've

got

going

on

at

home

--

none

of

that

is

an

excuse

for

neglecting

your

homework

or

having

a

bad

attitude

in

school.

That's

no

excuse

for

talking

back

to

your

teacher,

or

cutting

class,

or

dropping

out

of

school.

There

is

no

excuse

for

not

trying.

Where

you

are

right

now

doesn't

have

to

determine

where

you'll

end

up.

No

one's

written

your

destiny

for

you,

because

here

in

America,

you

write

your

own

destiny.

You

make

your

own

future.

That's

what

young

people

like

you

are

doing

every

day,

all

across

America.

Young

people

like

Jazmin

Perez,

from

Roma,

Texas.

Jazmin

didn't

speak

English

when

she

first

started

school.

Neither

of

her

parents

had

gone

to

college.

But

she

worked

hard,

earned

good

grades,

and

got

a

scholarship

to

Brown

University

--

is

now

in

graduate

school,

studying

public

health,

on

her

way

to

becoming

Dr.

Jazmin

Perez.

I'm

thinking

about

Andoni

Schultz,

from

Los

Altos,

California,

who's

fought

brain

cancer

since

he

was

three.

He's

had

to

endure

all

sorts

of

treatments

and

surgeries,

one

of

which

affected

his

memory,

so

it

took

him

much

longer

--

hundreds

of

extra

hours

--

to

do

his

schoolwork.

But

he

never

fell

behind.

He's

headed

to

college

this

fall.

And

then

there's

Shantell

Steve,

from

my

hometown

of

Chicago,

Illinois.

Even

when

bouncing

from

foster

home

to

foster

home

in

the

toughest

neighborhoods

in

the

city,

she

managed

to

get

a

job

at

a

local

health

care

center,

start

a

program

to

keep

young

people

out

of

gangs,

and

she's

on

track

to

graduate

high

school

with

honors

and

go

on

to

college.

And

Jazmin,

Andoni,

and

Shantell

aren't

any

different

from

any

of

you.

They

face

challenges

in

their

lives

just

like

you

do.

In

some

cases

they've

got

it

a

lot

worse

off

than

many

of

you.

But

they

refused

to

give

up.

They

chose

to

take

responsibility

for

their

lives,

for

their

education,

and

set

goals

for

themselves.

And

I

expect

all

of

you

to

do

the

same.

That's

why

today

I'm

calling

on

each

of

you

to

set

your

own

goals

for

your

education

--

and

do

everything

you

can

to

meet

them.

Your

goal

can

be

something

as

simple

as

doing

all

your

homework,

paying

attention

in

class,

or

spending

some

time

each

day

reading

a

book.

Maybe

you'll

decide

to

get

involved

in

an

extracurricular

activity,

or

volunteer

in

your

community.

Maybe

you'll

decide

to

stand

up

for

kids

who

are

being

teased

or

bullied

because

of

who

they

are

or

how

they

look,

because

you

believe,

like

I

do,

that

all

young

people

deserve

a

safe

environment

to

study

and

learn.

Maybe

you'll

decide

to

take

better

care

of

yourself

so

you

can

be

more

ready

to

learn.

And

along

those

lines,

by

the

way,

I

hope

all

of

you

are

washing

your

hands

a

lot,

and

that

you

stay

home

from

school

when

you

don't

feel

well,

so

we

can

keep

people

from

getting

the

flu

this

fall

and

winter.

But

whatever

you

resolve

to

do,

I

want

you

to

commit

to

it.

I

want

you

to

really

work

at

it.

I

know

that

sometimes

you

get

that

sense

from

TV

that

you

can

be

rich

and

successful

without

any

hard

work

--

that

your

ticket

to

success

is

through

rapping

or

basketball

or

being

a

reality

TV

star.

Chances

are

you're

not

going

to

be

any

of

those

things.

The

truth

is,

being

successful

is

hard.

You

won't

love

every

subject

that

you

study.

You

won't

click

with

every

teacher

that

you

have.

Not

every

homework

assignment

will

seem

completely

relevant

to

your

life

right

at

this

minute.

And

you

won't

necessarily

succeed

at

everything

the

first

time

you

try.

That's

okay.

Some

of

the

most

successful

people

in

the

world

are

the

ones

who've

had

the

most

failures.

J.K.

Rowling's

--

who

wrote

Harry

Potter

--

her

first

Harry

Potter

book

was

rejected

12

times

before

it

was

finally

published.

Michael

Jordan

was

cut

from

his

high

school

basketball

team.

He

lost

hundreds

of

games

and

missed

thousands

of

shots

during

his

career.

But

he

once

said,

"I

have

failed

over

and

over

and

over

again

in

my

life.

And

that's

why

I

succeed."

These

people

succeeded

because

they

understood

that

you

can't

let

your

failures

define

you

--

you

have

to

let

your

failures

teach

you.

You

have

to

let

them

show

you

what

to

do

differently

the

next

time.

So

if

you

get

into

trouble,

that

doesn't

mean

you're

a

troublemaker,

it

means

you

need

to

try

harder

to

act

right.

If

you

get

a

bad

grade,

that

doesn't

mean

you're

stupid,

it

just

means

you

need

to

spend

more

time

studying.

No

one's

born

being

good

at

all

things.

You

become

good

at

things

through

hard

work.

You're

not

a

varsity

athlete

the

first

time

you

play

a

new

sport.

You

don't

hit

every

note

the

first

time

you

sing

a

song.

You've

got

to

practice.

The

same

principle

applies

to

your

schoolwork.

You

might

have

to

do

a

math

problem

a

few

times

before

you

get

it

right.

You

might

have

to

read

something

a

few

times

before

you

understand

it.

You

definitely

have

to

do

a

few

drafts

of

a

paper

before

it's

good

enough

to

hand

in.

Don't

be

afraid

to

ask

questions.

Don't

be

afraid

to

ask

for

help

when

you

need

it.

I

do

that

every

day.

Asking

for

help

isn't

a

sign

of

weakness,

it's

a

sign

of

strength

because

it

shows

you

have

the

courage

to

admit

when

you

don't

know

something,

and

that

then

allows

you

to

learn

something