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1、第 1 页 Commencement Address at Wellesley College1 特征码 AWBohsLkPwQnlxXHBDRq Barbara Pierce Bush: Commencement Address at Wellesley College Thank you. Thank you, very much. Thank you very, very much, President Keohane. Mrs. Gorbachev, Trustees, Faculty, Parents, and I should say, Julia Porter, class pr
2、esident, and certainly my new best friend, Christine Bicknell - and, of course, the Class of 1990. I am really thrilled to be here today, and very excited, as I know you all must be, that Mrs. Gorbachev could join us. These are exciting times. Theyre exciting in Washington, and I have really looked
3、forward to ing to Wellesley. I thought it was going to be fun. I never dreamt it would be this much fun. So, thank you for that. More than ten years ago, when I was invited here to talk about our experiences in the Peoples Republic of China, I was struck by both the natural beauty of your 第 2 页 camp
4、us and the spirit of this place. Wellesley, you see, is not just a place but an idea - an experiment in excellence in which diversity is not just tolerated, but is embraced. The essence of this spirit was captured in a moving speech about tolerance given last year by a student body president of one
5、of your sister colleges. She related the story by Robert Fulghum about a young pastor, finding himself in charge of some very energetic children, hits upon a game called “Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs.“ “You have to decide now,“ the pastor instructed the children, “which you are - a giant, a wizard or
6、 a dwarf?“ At that, a small girl tugging at his pants leg, asked, “But where do the mermaids stand?“ And the pastor tells her there are no mermaids. And she says, “Oh yes there are. I am a mermaid.“ Now this little girl knew what she was, and she was not about to give up on either her identity, or t
7、he game. She intended to take her place wherever mermaids fit into the scheme of things. Where do the mermaids stand? All of those who are different, those who do not fit the boxes and the pigeonholes?“ “Answer that question,“ 第 3 页 wrote Fulghum, “And you can build a school, a nation, or a whole wo
8、rld.“ As that very wise young woman said, “Diversity, like anything worth having, requires effort. Effort to learn about and respect difference, to be passionate with one another, to cherish our own identity, and to accept unconditionally the same in others. You should all be very proud that this is
9、 the Wellesley spirit. Now I know your first choice today was Alice Walker - guess how I know! - known for The Color Purple. Instead you got me - known for the color of my hair! Alice Walkers book has a special resonance here. At Wellesley, each class is known by a special color. For four years the
10、Class of 90 has worn the color purple. Today you meet on Severance Green to say goodbye to all of that, to begin a new and very personal journey, to search for your own true colors. In the world that awaits you, beyond the shores of Lake 第 4 页 Waban, no one can say what your true colors will be. But
11、 this I do know: You have a first class education from a first class school. And so you need not, probably cannot, live a “paint-by-numbers“ life. Decisions are not irrevocable. Choices do e back. And as you set off from Wellesley, I hope that many of you will consider making three very special choi
12、ces. The first is to believe in something larger than yourself, to get involved in some of the big ideas of our time. I chose literacy because I honestly believe that if more people could read, write and prehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation
13、and our society. And early on I made another choice which I hope youll make as well. Whether you are talking about education, career, or service, youre talking about life - and life really must have joy. Its supposed to be fun! One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life, to mar
14、ry George Bush, is because he made me laugh. Its true, sometimes weve laughed through our tears. But th 第 5 页 at shared laughter has been one of our strongest bonds. Find the joy in life, because as Ferris Bueller said on his day off, “Life moves pretty fast; and ya dont stop and look around once in
15、 a while, ya gonna miss it!“ (I am not going to tell George ya clapped more for Ferris than ya clapped for George.) The third choice that must not be missed is to cherish your human connections: your relationships with family and friends. For several years, youve had impressed upon you the importanc
16、e to your career of dedication and hard work. And, of course, thats true. But as important as your obligations as a doctor, a lawyer, a business leader will be, you are a human being first. And those human connections - with spouses, with children, with friends - are the most important investments y
17、ou will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not 第 6 页 spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent. We are in a transitional period right now, fascinating and ex
18、hilarating times, learning to adjust to changes and the choices we, men and women, are facing. As an example, I remember what a friend said, on hearing her husband plain to his buddies that he had to babysit. Quickly setting him straight, my friend told her husband that when its your own kids, its n
19、ot called babysitting. Now, maybe we should adjust faster; maybe we should adjust slower. But whatever the era whatever the times, one thing will never change: fathers and mothers, if you have children, they must e first. You must read to your children. And you must hug your children. And you must l
20、ove your children. Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house. For over fifty years, it was said that the winner of Wellesleys annual hoop race would be the first to get 第 7 页 married. Now they say, the wi
21、nner will be the first to bee a C.E.O. Both of those stereotypes show too little tolerance for those who want to know where the mermaids stand. So I want to offer a new legend: the winner of the hoop race will be the first to realize her dream - not societys dreams - her own personal dream. And who
22、knows? Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the Presidents spouse. I wish him well! Well, the controversy ends here. But our conversation is only beginning. And a worthwhile conversation it has been. So as you leave Wellesley today, take with you deep thanks for the courtesy and the honor you have shared with Mrs. Gorbachev and with me. Thank you. God bless you. And may your future be worthy of your dreams.