【演讲】奥巴马寄语2020届毕业生，三个建议学会掌握自己的生活

President Obama's Message to the Class of 2020 

中英文演讲稿：

Hi, everybody, and Aniyah, thank you for that beautiful introduction. 

大家好。Aniyah， 感谢您的精彩介绍。

I could not be prouder of everything you've done in your time with the Obama Foundation. 

我为您在奥巴马基金会期间所做的一切感到自豪。

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. 

当然，对即将毕业的2020届，我不能为你们所有人感到更骄傲，你们的老师、教练、以及最重要的是引导你前进的父母和家人都为你们感到骄傲。

Now, graduating is a big achievement under any circumstances. 

在任何情况下，毕业都是一项重大成就。

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 neiorhood where people too often count you out. 

你们当中有些人必须克服各种严重的障碍，无论是生病，父母失去工作，还是住在人们经常把你拒之门外的社区中。

Along with the usual challenges of growing up, all of you have had to deal with the added pressures of social media, reports of school shootings, and the specter of climate change. 

除了成长过程中常见的挑战，你们所有人都必须应对社交媒体带来的更大压力、学校枪击事件的报道、以及气候变化的阴影。

And then, just as you're about to celebrate having made it through, just as you've 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. 

然后，就像你们即将庆祝成功一样，就像你们一直期待着毕业舞会和典礼，说实话还有一堆派对，而现在受到全球大流行性病影响整个世界都处于颠覆状态。

And as much as I'm sure you love your parents I 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. 

而且，我当然肯定，你们爱父母，但我敢打赌，与父母呆在一起，玩棋盘游戏或在电视.上看Tiger King并不是你们对毕业前最后几个月的预期。

Now I'll be honest with you, the disappointments of missing a live graduation, those will pass pretty quick. 

现在，我对你们说实话，缺少现场毕业典礼的失望，这些很快就会过去。

I don't remember much of my own high school graduation. 

我不太记得自己高中毕业的时候。

I know that not having to sit there and listen to a commencement speaker isn't all that bad. 

我知道不必坐在那里听演讲，这不是很糟糕。

Mine usually go on way too long. 

我的经历是演讲通常会持续太久。

Also, not that many people look great in those caps, especially if you have big ears like me. 

而且，并不是很多人都喜欢这些帽子，特别是如果你有像我这样的大耳朵。

And you'll have plenty of time to catch up with your friends once the immediate public health crisis is over. 

一旦迫在眉睫的公共卫生危机结束，你们将有足够的时间与朋友保持联系。

But what remains true is that your graduation marks your passage into adulthood. 

但是，真正的事实是，毕业标志着你们进入成年。

The time when you begin to take charge of your own life. 

这是你们开始掌控自己的生活的时刻。

It's when you get to decide what's important to you. The kind of career you wanna pursue, who you wanna build a family with, the values you wanna live by. 

当你们决定对自己重要的事情时：你们想要从事的职业，你们想与谁建立家庭，你们想赖以生存的价值观。

And given the current state of the world that may be kind of scary. 

鉴于目前的世界状况，这可能有点吓人。

If you'd planned on going away for college, getting dropped off at campus in the fall, that's no longer a given. 

如果你们打算去上大学，那么秋天就到校园里上学，这已不再是一定的了。

If you're planning to work while going to school, finding that first job is going to be tougher. 

如果你们打算在上学时工作，那么找到第一份工作将变得更加艰难。

Even families that are relatively well off are dealing with massive uncertainty. 

即使是相对富裕的家庭也面临着巨大的不确定性。

Those who were struggling before they're hanging on by a thread. 

那些曾经在挣扎中的人们，他们更困难。

All of which means that you're gonna have to grow up faster than some generations. 

所有这些意味着你们将必须比某些世代成长更快。

This pandemic has shaking 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. 

这种大流行病动摇了现状，暴露出我国许多深层次的问题，从严重的经济不平等、持续的种族差距、到缺乏为需要它的人提供基本医疗服务。

It's woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don't work. 

许多年轻人意识到，旧的做事方式行不通。

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. 

如果周围的每个人都饥饿、生病，那你赚多少钱都没有意义；而且我们的社会和民主，只有在我们不仅思考自己，而且思考彼此时，才能发挥作用。

It's also pulled the curtain back on another hard truth, something that we all have to eventually accept once our childhood comes to an end. 

这也揭开了另一个真相，这是一旦我们的童年结束，所有人都必须最终接受的。

You know all those adults, that used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing, turns out they don't have all the answers. 

你们曾经认为的所有那些成年人，都在承担责任，并且知道他们在做什么，事实证明他们并没有所有答案。

A lot of them aren't even asking the right questions. 

他们中的许多人甚至都没有在问正确的问题。

So if the world is gonna get better, it's gonna be up to you. 

因此，如果世界会变得更好，那将取决于你们。

That realization may be kind of intimidating, but I hope it's also inspiring. 

这种认识可能有点吓人，但我希望它也能激发灵感。

With all the challenges this country faces right now, nobody can tell you, no you're too young to understand or this is how it's always been done. 

面对这个国家目前面临的所有挑战，没有人能告诉你：“不，你太年轻了，无法理解或一直以来就是这么办的”。

Because with so much uncertainty, with everything suddenly up for grabs, this is your generation's world to shape. 

因为存在如此多的不确定性，突然之间所有事情都可以做，这就是你们这一代人的世界。

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'll leave you with three quick pieces of advice.

由于我是老家伙之一，因此我不会告诉你们如何处理这种掌握在你们手中的力量。但是，我给你们提供三个简单的建议。

First, don't be afraid. 

首先，不要害怕。

America has gone through tough times before, slavery, civil war, famine, disease, the Great Depression, and 911. 

美国经历了艰难的时期，奴隶制、内战、饥荒、疾病、大萧条和911事件。

And each time, we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learn from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better. 

每次我们变得更加强大时，通常是因为新一代的年轻人，像你们一样，从过去的错误中吸取教训，并弄清楚了如何使事情变得更好。

Second, do what you think is right. 

第二，做你认为正确的事。

Doing what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy, that's how little kids think. 

做感觉好、方便、容易的事情一一那就是小孩子的想法 。

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. 

不幸的是，许多所谓的成年人，包括一些拥有高级头衔和重要工作的成年人，仍然以这种方式思考，这就是事情如此混乱的原因。

I hope that instead you decide to ground yourself in values that last. 

我并不希望这样，而是希望你们能决定以持久的价值观为基础。

Like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. 

例如诚实、勤奋、责任、公平、慷慨、尊重他人。

You won't get it right every time. 

你们不会每次都做对。

You'll make mistakes like we all do. 

你们会像我们所有人一样犯错误。

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. 

但是，如果你们倾听自己内心的真相，即使很难，即使不便，人们也会注意到。他们会被你们吸引。

And you'll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. 

你们将成为解决方案的一部分，而不是问题的一部分。

And finally, build the community.�

最后，建立一个社区。

No one does big things by themselves. 

没有人能独自做大事。

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. 

现在，当人们感到害怕时，很容易产生愤世嫉俗的声音，说出：让我只为自己、家人，或跟我看起来、思考或信仰与我相似的人。

But if we're gonna get through these difficult times, if we're gonna create a world where everybody has opportunity to find a job and afford college, if we're gonna save the environment, and defeat future pandemics, then we're gonna have to do it together. 

但是，如果我们要度过这些困难的时期，如果我们要创造一个每个人都有机会找到工作、并负担大学学费的世界；如果我们要保护环境、并战胜未来的流行病，那么我们将不得不一起做。

So be alive to one another's struggles.�

因此，要为彼此的斗争而活着。

Stand up for one another's rights.�

捍卫彼此的权利。

Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed, and set the world on a different path. 

拋弃所有使我们分裂的旧思维方式一性别歧视， 种族偏见，地位，贪婪，并使世界走上一条不同的道路。

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. 

当你们需要帮助时，我和米歇尔已将基金会的使命，赋予了像你们这样的年轻人，以技能和支持来领导自己的社区。

And to connect you with other young leaders around the country and around the globe. 

并使你们与全国和全球的其他青年领袖建立联系。

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.�

但事实是，他们不需要我们告诉你们该怎么做因为在很多方面，你们已经开始发挥领导作用。恭喜，2020届毕业生们。

Keep making us proud. 

继续让我们以你们为傲。