you hear me? young people don't be afraid be focused, be determined, be hopeful, be empowered. empower your selves with good education then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promises.
Lead by example with hope, never fear our greatness has never ever come from sitting
back and feeling entitled to what we have it's never come from folks who climb the ladder
of success or who happened to be born near the top and then pull the ladders up after them selves no, ah ah our greatness has always come From People Who Expect Nothing And Take Nothing For Granted.
Folks Who Work Hard For What They Have, Then Reach Back And Help Others After Them. Success Isn't About How Your Life Looks To Others. it's about how it feels to you. we realize that being successful. isn't about being impressive. It's about being inspired and, and that's what it means to be your true self.
It means looking insides yourself and being honest about what you truly enjoy doing because graduates i can promises you that you will never be happy plodding through some one else is idea of success. Success Is Only Meaningful And Enjoyable If It Feels Like Your Own. You should never view your challenges as disadvantage.
Instead It Is Important For You To Understand That Your Experience Facing And Overcoming Adversity Is Actually One Of Your Biggest. advantages and i know that because l've seen it myself. not just as a student working my way through school but years later when i after i came, before i came to the white house and i worked as a dean at a college. in that role i encountered students who had every advantage.
Their parent's paid their full tuitions, they lived in beautiful campus dorm they had every material possessions a college kid could wants; cars, computers, spending money. But When Some Of Them Got Their First Bad Grade, They Just Fell Apart They Lost It. Because They Were Ill-Equipped To Handle Their First Encounter With Disappointment Or Falling Short. but graduates, as you all know life will put many obstacle in your path that are far worse than a bad grade.
You'll youll have unreasonable bosses and difficult clients and patients. You'll experience illnesses and losses, cries and setbacks that will come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet. But Unlike So Many Other Young People You Have Already Developed The Resilience And The Maturity That You Need To Pick Yourself Up And Dust Yourself Off And Keep moving through the
Folks Who Work Hard For What They Have, Then Reach Back And Help Others After Them. Success Isn't About How Your Life Looks To Others. it's about how it feels to you. we realize that being successful. isn't about being impressive. It's about being inspired and, and that's what it means to be your true self.
It means looking insides yourself and being honest about what you truly enjoy doing because graduates i can promises you that you will never be happy plodding through some one else is idea of success. Success Is Only Meaningful And Enjoyable If It Feels Like Your Own. You should never view your challenges as disadvantage.
Instead It Is Important For You To Understand That Your Experience Facing And Overcoming Adversity Is Actually One Of Your Biggest. advantages and i know that because l've seen it myself. not just as a student working my way through school but years later when i after i came, before i came to the white house and i worked as a dean at a college. in that role i encountered students who had every advantage.
Their parent's paid their full tuitions, they lived in beautiful campus dorm they had every material possessions a college kid could wants; cars, computers, spending money. But When Some Of Them Got Their First Bad Grade, They Just Fell Apart They Lost It. Because They Were Ill-Equipped To Handle Their First Encounter With Disappointment Or Falling Short. but graduates, as you all know life will put many obstacle in your path that are far worse than a bad grade.
You'll youll have unreasonable bosses and difficult clients and patients. You'll experience illnesses and losses, cries and setbacks that will come out of nowhere and knock you off your feet. But Unlike So Many Other Young People You Have Already Developed The Resilience And The Maturity That You Need To Pick Yourself Up And Dust Yourself Off And Keep moving through the
pain keep moving forward.
You maybe feeling some real anxiety about venturing out into the world beyond these
We all feel at times a little bit lost and we all have some kind of emptiness that we're searching to fill and often it is only through serving other That We Find What's Been Missing In Our Own Lives. and like so many of you through service i was able to find what i needed and carve a path for my life. That truly felt like my own. and the truth is, those seminars where you explored new ideas.
Those Late-Night Conversations Where You Challenged Each Other And Learned From Each Other, After All Of That. you might find yourself a little dismayed by the clamor outside these walls. the name-calling, the negative ads, the folks yelling at each other on tv the power of investing the future. I just want to pause for a moment on the world invent because the term phrase isn't succeed in the future.
It's not plan for the future or do the best you can in the future it is invent the future and with those three words comes a simple message a call to chart your own course and live lifes on your own terms. and that's a lesson that I first learned back when I was a teenager. and some of you may have grown up like I did in neighbourhoods where kids had-very few of them-had the chance to go to college.
Where being teased for doing well in school, was just a fact of life. where well-meaning but misguided folks questioned whether a girl with my background could get into the kinds of colleges I dreamed of attending. after being surrounded by people who are so dedicated to servicing others and making the world a better place you might feel a little discourage by the polarisation and gridlock that too often characterizes our politics and civic life.
And In The Face Of All That Clamor You Might Have An Overwhelming Instinct To Just Run The Other Way As Fast As You Can. you might be tempted to find a community of like-minded folks and work with them on causes you care about and just tune out all of the noise. i worked hard and i did my best to tune out those voices of doubt including the ones inside my own head and eventually, i was accepted to Princeton and I got that education that my dad had always dreamed of but the truth is graduates.
There will always be folks who make assumptions about you, based on superficial things like where you're from or what you're wearing or how you look there will always be folks who judge you based on just one thing you say or do folks who define you based on one isolated incident. I want to urge you to do just the opposite. today, i want to suggest that if you truly wish to carry on the oberlin legacy of service and social justice.
Then You Need To Run To And Not Away From The Noise. today, i want to urge you to actively seek out the most contentious, polarized, gridlocked places you can find. because so often throughout our history those have been the places where progress really happens. the places where minds changed, lives transformed. In The End, People Can Only Define You If You Let Them.
In the end, it is up to each of us to define our selves. It's up to each of us invent our own future. With The Choices We Make And The Actions We Take. to succumb to feeling of despair and anger only means that in the end we lose. Those Feelings Are Not An Excuse To Just Throw Up Our Hands And Give Up. not an excuse, they are not apn excuse to lose hope. but here is the things our history provides us with a better story a better blueprints for how we can win.
It teaches us that when we pull ourselves out of the lowest emotional depths and we channel our frustrations into studying and organizing and banding together then we can build ourselves and our communities up. We Can Take On Those Deep Rooted Problems And Together, Together We Can Overcome Anything That Stands In Our Way. nothing, and I mean nothing is going to stop you from fulfilling your dreams
And you deserve every last one of the successes that i know you will have but i also want to be very clear that with those successes comes a set of obligations to shere the lessons you've learned here at this school. the obligation to use the opportunities you've had to help others.
The means raising your hand when you get a seat in that board meeting and asking the question well, whose voices aren't being heard here? What ideas are we missing? it means adding your voice to our national conversation speaking out for our most cherished values of liberty opportunity, inclusion and respect the values that you've been living here at this school.
It Means Reaching Back To Help Young People Who've Been Left Out And Left Behind Helping Them Prepare For College, Helping Them Pay For College. so I want you all to go out there be great, build great lives for yourself. enjoy the liberties that's you have in this great country pursue your own versions of happiness. and please, please, always, always do your part to help others do the same.
You maybe feeling some real anxiety about venturing out into the world beyond these
walls and I'm not gonna lie to you for many of you this is going to be a pretty big transition.
in fact, I think Dr. Martin luther king described it well in his commencement address in 65 when he declared quote today you bid farewell to the safe security of the academic environment you Prepare To Continue Your Journey On The Clamorous Highways Of Life.
We all feel at times a little bit lost and we all have some kind of emptiness that we're searching to fill and often it is only through serving other That We Find What's Been Missing In Our Own Lives. and like so many of you through service i was able to find what i needed and carve a path for my life. That truly felt like my own. and the truth is, those seminars where you explored new ideas.
Those Late-Night Conversations Where You Challenged Each Other And Learned From Each Other, After All Of That. you might find yourself a little dismayed by the clamor outside these walls. the name-calling, the negative ads, the folks yelling at each other on tv the power of investing the future. I just want to pause for a moment on the world invent because the term phrase isn't succeed in the future.
It's not plan for the future or do the best you can in the future it is invent the future and with those three words comes a simple message a call to chart your own course and live lifes on your own terms. and that's a lesson that I first learned back when I was a teenager. and some of you may have grown up like I did in neighbourhoods where kids had-very few of them-had the chance to go to college.
Where being teased for doing well in school, was just a fact of life. where well-meaning but misguided folks questioned whether a girl with my background could get into the kinds of colleges I dreamed of attending. after being surrounded by people who are so dedicated to servicing others and making the world a better place you might feel a little discourage by the polarisation and gridlock that too often characterizes our politics and civic life.
And In The Face Of All That Clamor You Might Have An Overwhelming Instinct To Just Run The Other Way As Fast As You Can. you might be tempted to find a community of like-minded folks and work with them on causes you care about and just tune out all of the noise. i worked hard and i did my best to tune out those voices of doubt including the ones inside my own head and eventually, i was accepted to Princeton and I got that education that my dad had always dreamed of but the truth is graduates.
There will always be folks who make assumptions about you, based on superficial things like where you're from or what you're wearing or how you look there will always be folks who judge you based on just one thing you say or do folks who define you based on one isolated incident. I want to urge you to do just the opposite. today, i want to suggest that if you truly wish to carry on the oberlin legacy of service and social justice.
Then You Need To Run To And Not Away From The Noise. today, i want to urge you to actively seek out the most contentious, polarized, gridlocked places you can find. because so often throughout our history those have been the places where progress really happens. the places where minds changed, lives transformed. In The End, People Can Only Define You If You Let Them.
In the end, it is up to each of us to define our selves. It's up to each of us invent our own future. With The Choices We Make And The Actions We Take. to succumb to feeling of despair and anger only means that in the end we lose. Those Feelings Are Not An Excuse To Just Throw Up Our Hands And Give Up. not an excuse, they are not apn excuse to lose hope. but here is the things our history provides us with a better story a better blueprints for how we can win.
It teaches us that when we pull ourselves out of the lowest emotional depths and we channel our frustrations into studying and organizing and banding together then we can build ourselves and our communities up. We Can Take On Those Deep Rooted Problems And Together, Together We Can Overcome Anything That Stands In Our Way. nothing, and I mean nothing is going to stop you from fulfilling your dreams
And you deserve every last one of the successes that i know you will have but i also want to be very clear that with those successes comes a set of obligations to shere the lessons you've learned here at this school. the obligation to use the opportunities you've had to help others.
The means raising your hand when you get a seat in that board meeting and asking the question well, whose voices aren't being heard here? What ideas are we missing? it means adding your voice to our national conversation speaking out for our most cherished values of liberty opportunity, inclusion and respect the values that you've been living here at this school.
It Means Reaching Back To Help Young People Who've Been Left Out And Left Behind Helping Them Prepare For College, Helping Them Pay For College. so I want you all to go out there be great, build great lives for yourself. enjoy the liberties that's you have in this great country pursue your own versions of happiness. and please, please, always, always do your part to help others do the same.
0 Comments