愛華網(wǎng)
阿文弗吉尼亞州，阿林頓市，2009年9月8日
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)谝黄穑珖?guó)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(guó)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(zhǎng)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(zhǎng)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(zhǎng)、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)?！悄忝刻鞙?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(zhǎng)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(zhǎng)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(mèng)，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(guó)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(guó)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(guó)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(zhǎng)。
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(guó)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(mèng)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(guó)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(zhǎng)輩，或許你的某個(gè)家長(zhǎng)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(zhǎng)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(guó)，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（Jazmin Perez）。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(jī)，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（Andoni Schultz），他從三歲起就開始與腦癌病魔做斗爭(zhēng)，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（Shantell Steve）換過多次收養(yǎng)家庭，從小在治安很差的地區(qū)長(zhǎng)大，但她努力爭(zhēng)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(jī)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(jiǎn)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(zhǎng)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)椋晒κ羌y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(chǎng)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?！彼麄兊某晒?，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(zhǎng)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(zhǎng)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(guó)家。
美國(guó)不是一個(gè)人們?cè)庥隼щy就輕易放棄的國(guó)度，在這個(gè)國(guó)家，人們堅(jiān)持到底、人們加倍努力，為了他們所熱愛的國(guó)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(chǎng)革命最終造就了這個(gè)國(guó)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(guó)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(guó)家所做的一切？
你們的家長(zhǎng)、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(guó)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(guó)。
美國(guó)總統(tǒng)奧巴馬9月8日開學(xué)演講英文全文
Hello, everybody! Thank you.Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead andhave a seat. How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How aboutTim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield HighSchool in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning infrom all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. AndI am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thankWakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a biground of applause. (Applause.)
I know that for many of you,today is the first day of school. And for those of you inkindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your firstday in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a littlenervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feelingpretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year togo. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probablywishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just alittle bit longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I wasyoung, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a fewyears. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me whereall the American kids went to school, but she thought it wasimportant for me to keep up with an American education. So shedecided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday.But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do itwas at 4:30 in the morning.
Now, as you might imagine, Iwasn'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'dcomplain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'dsay, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."(Laughter.)
So I know that some of you arestill adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today becauseI have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because Iwant to talk with you about your education and what's expected ofall of you in this new school year.
Now, I've given a lot ofspeeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility alot.
I've talked about teachers'responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you tolearn.
I've talked about your parents'responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get yourhomework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TVor with the Xbox.
I've talked a lot about yourgovernment's responsibility for setting high standards, andsupporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools thataren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunitiesthat they deserve.
But at the end of the day, wecan have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents,the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make adifference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill yourresponsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless youpay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parentsand grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takesto succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: theresponsibility each of you has for your education.
I want to start with theresponsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you hassomething that you're good at. Every single one of you hassomething to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself todiscover what that is. That's the opportunity an education canprovide.
Maybe you could be a greatwriter -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in anewspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that Englishpaper -- that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe youcould be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough tocome up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- butyou might not know it until you do your project for your scienceclass. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Courtjustice -- but you might not know that until you join studentgovernment or the debate team.
And no matter what you want todo with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to doit. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? Youwant to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of ourmilitary? You're going to need a good education for every singleone of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just dropinto a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it andlearn for it.
And this isn't just importantfor your own life and your own future. What you make of youreducation will decide nothing less than the future of this country.The future of America depends on you. What you're learning inschool today will determine whether we as a nation can meet ourgreatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge andproblem-solving skills you learn in science and math to curediseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energytechnologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insightsand critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studiesto fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, andmake our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativityand ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build newcompanies that will create new jobs and boost oureconomy.
We need every single one of youto develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so youcan help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If youdon't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quittingon yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now, I know it's not alwayseasy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges inyour lives right now that can make it hard to focus on yourschoolwork.
I get it. I know what it'slike. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I wasraised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at timesto pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things thatother kids had. There were times when I missed having a father inmy life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like Ididn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focusedas I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm notproud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my lifecould have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was -- I was lucky. I gota lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to collegeand law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First LadyMichelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents hadgone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But theyworked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the bestschools in this country.
Some of you might not havethose advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who giveyou the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family haslost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe youlive in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friendswho are pressuring you to do things you know aren'tright.
But at the end of the day, thecircumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you comefrom, 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 abad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to yourteacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is noexcuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn'thave to determine where you'll end up. No one's written yourdestiny for you, because here in America, you write your owndestiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people likeyou are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez,from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she firststarted school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But sheworked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to BrownUniversity -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, onher way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about AndoniSchultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancersince he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments andsurgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him muchlonger -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But henever fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.
And then there's ShantellSteve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncingfrom foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods inthe 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 ontrack to graduate high school with honors and go on tocollege.And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren't any different from any ofyou. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In somecases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But theyrefused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for theirlives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And Iexpect all of you to do the same.
That's why today I'm calling oneach of you to set your own goals for your education -- and doeverything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something assimple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, orspending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide toget involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in yourcommunity. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are beingteased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, becauseyou believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safeenvironment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take bettercare of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along thoselines, 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 wecan keep people from getting the flu this fall andwinter.
But whatever you resolve to do,I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work atit.I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can berich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket tosuccess is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TVstar. Chances are you're not going to be any of thosethings.
The truth is, being successfulis hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won'tclick with every teacher that you have. Not every homeworkassignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at thisminute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the firsttime you try.
That's okay. Some of the mostsuccessful people in the world are the ones who've had the mostfailures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her firstHarry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finallypublished. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketballteam. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shotsduring his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and overand over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."
These people succeeded becausethey understood that you can't let your failures define you -- youhave to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show youwhat 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 tryharder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't meanyou're stupid, it just means you need to spend more timestudying.
No one's born being good at allthings. You become good at things through hard work. You're not avarsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hitevery note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice.The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to doa math problem a few times before you get it right. You might haveto read something a few times before you understand it. Youdefinitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's goodenough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to askquestions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I dothat every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's asign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admitwhen you don't know something, and that then allows you to learnsomething new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, agrandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them tohelp you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you'restruggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like otherpeople have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself,because when you give up on yourself, you give up on yourcountry.
The story of Americaisn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's aboutpeople who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their countrytoo much to do anything less than their best.
It's the story of students whosat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolutionand they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat whereyou sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war;who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students whosat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter andFacebook and changed the way we communicate with eachother.
So today, I want to ask all ofyou, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are yougoing to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will aPresident who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about whatall of you did for this country?
Now, your families, yourteachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you havethe education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hardto fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipmentand the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do yourpart, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. Iexpect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expectgreat things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let yourfamily down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourselfdown. Make us all proud.
Thank you very much, everybody.God bless you. God bless America. Thank you.
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