畢業季寄語:奧巴馬的失敗足以談一下午

First lady Michelle Obama has some advice for some Tennessee high school graduates: Strike your own path in college and life and work to overcome inevitable failures with determination and grit.

又是一年畢業季，美國第一夫人米歇爾·奧巴馬5月18日向畢業生現身說法，告誡他們在大學、生活和工作中要走自己的路，依靠決心和勇氣戰勝不可避免的失敗。

Mrs. Obama spoke for 22 minutes to the graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School on Saturday in her only high school commencement address this year. The ceremony took place in the gymnasium of nearby Tennessee State University. The first lady told the 170 graduates that she spent too much of her own time in college focusing on academic achievements. While her success in college and law school led to a high-profile job, she said, she ended up leaving to focus on public service.

據美國媒體報道，米歇爾當天在田納西州馬丁·路德·金高中畢業典禮上致辭。在22分鐘的演講中，她告訴170名畢業生，當年她在大學致力於學業，之後如願以償地摘取高職，但最終投身公共服務。

"My message to all of you today is this: Do not waste a minute living someone else's dream," she said. "It takes a lot of real work to discover what brings you joy … and you won't find what you love simply by checking boxes or padding your GPA."

“今天我要告訴大家的是：不要爲別人的夢想浪費一分鐘。要想知道帶給你快樂的是什麼，必須付出真正的努力。僅僅依靠查看郵箱或誇大成績，你不會找到鍾愛的工作。”

Mrs. Obama lauded the school — it's on the site of one of the city's first to educate African-Americans — for its graduation rate, spirit of volunteerism and healthy food programs. She noted that each graduate was going on to either higher education or the military. FLASHBACK: Obama kicked off his speech at White House Correspondents' dinner with DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win" as his introductory song. She said MLK reminded her of her own high school experience in Chicago.

她說，馬丁·路德·金高中讓她聯想到自己在芝加哥的高中經歷。

"My No. 1 goal was to go to a high school that would push me and challenge me," she said. "I wanted to go somewhere that would celebrate achievement. A place where academic success wouldn't make me a target of teasing or bullying, but instead would be a badge of honor."

“我的第一目標是進入能提高和考驗我的高中。”她說，“我想去一個歌頌成績的地方。在那裏，學術成功不會使我成爲戲弄或欺負的對象，而是榮譽的象徵。”

But Mrs. Obama lamented that not all students have the same opportunities.

但奧巴馬伕人感慨萬千：並非所有學生都有同樣的機遇。

Unfortunately, schools like this don't exist for every kid," she said. "You are blessed."

她說，“可惜，這樣的學校並非爲每個孩子而存在，你們很幸運。”

The first lady told graduates that failure may be a part of their college lives and careers, and that how they respond to any pitfalls will define them.

她告訴畢業生們，失敗也許是他們大學生活和職業生涯的一部分，未來取決於他們如何面對困難和錯誤。

"That's when you find out what you're really made of in those hard times," she said. "But you can only do that if you're willing to put yourself in a position where you might fail." Overcoming adversity has been the hallmark of many great people, she said.

她說，戰勝逆境一直是許多偉大人物的標誌。

"Oprah was demoted from her first job as a news anchor, and now she doesn't even need a last name," she said of media giant Oprah Winfrey. "And then there's this guy Barack Obama … he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband."

“奧普拉從事第一份新聞主播工作時曾被降職，而今，提到她甚至不需要提她的姓。”她提到傳媒巨人奧普拉·溫弗裏，“還有巴拉克·奧巴馬這個傢伙。第一次國會競選，他大敗而歸，而現在，他開始自稱是我的丈夫。”

The first lady joked: "I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures."

第一夫人開玩笑說，“我可以用整個下午講他的失敗。”

Mrs. Obama later presented graduate diplomas on stage and posed for photos with graduates.

隨後，奧巴馬伕人在臺上爲畢業生頒發了畢業證書，並與他們合影留念。

"We didn't know we would get to hug her," said graduate Natey Kinzounza, 18. "She's got a great sense of humor. She's like my mom, she's just a very real person."

“我們不知道我們會擁抱她。”18歲的畢業生納蒂·金宗齊說，“她幽默詼諧。她就好像我媽媽，是非常真實的人。”