毕业致辞：21年感悟

字幕原文

Actually, 其实，

I have racked my mind 我绞尽脑汁

and heart for what I ought to say to you today. 思考今天该对你们说些什么。

I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own 我问自己，在我自己

graduation 毕业时，我希望自己知道些什么，

and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years 以及在这21年里我学到了哪些重要的教训，

that have expired between that day 从那天

and this. 到今天。

I have come up with two answers. 我找到了两个答案。

On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic 在这个美好的日子里，我们齐聚一堂庆祝你们的学业

success, 成功，

I have decided to talk to you 我决定和你们谈谈

about the benefits of failure. 失败的好处。

And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called real 当你们站在有时被称为真实

life, 生活的门槛上时，

I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination. 我想赞美想象力的至关重要性。

These may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, 这些选择可能看起来有些堂吉诃德式或自相矛盾，

but bear with me. 但请耐心听我说。

Looking back at the 21-year-old 回首21岁时的我，

that I was at graduation 那个毕业时的我，

is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old 对于42岁的我来说，这是一种略微不舒服的经历，

that she has become. 也就是现在的我。

Half my lifetime ago, I 半生之前，我

was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself 在我对自己抱有的雄心壮志

and what those closest to me expected of me. 和身边人对我的期望之间，努力维持着一种不安的平衡。

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do 我坚信我唯一想做的事情，

ever 永远，

was write novels 就是写小说。

However, my parents, 然而，我的父母，

both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds 他们都来自贫困的家庭，

and neither of whom had been to college, 并且都没有上过大学，

took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk 认为我过于活跃的想象力只是一个有趣的个人怪癖，

that would never pay a mortgage 永远无法用来支付房贷，

or secure a pension. 也无法保障养老金。