看了这场演讲 才知道他为什么能获美国高中生最高奖项—美国总统学者奖

For me, coming into high school, I thought I had a direction. During those first few days, my four-foot-tall naive freshman self knew that he wanted to write and publish the greatest novel the world had ever seen. In my mind, I imagined this novel rivaling the likes of Morrison and Hemingway, of Rowling and Patterson, of Fitzgerald and Steinbeck. All of my heart and my soul funneled into constructing the most elaborately-orchestrated fiction the world had ever seen, to produce tidal waves in American literature for ages to come.

I never did end up writing that book. In fact, I don’t think I ever got past the first chapter. But what I did retain from that experience and so many others was this childhood passion and drive to dream and to create. My foray into writing gave me the ability to construct great worlds, galaxies defined by their sheer scale of detail and their remarkable depth of feeling, universes filled to the brim with my childhood sentiments of wonder and awe, as if the very embodiment of my identity were encapsulated within those words upon a page. This childhood experience taught me how to  be fearless… How to be fearless to dream.

As I became acquainted with the high school, I began to feel, as I’m sure all of us did, to feel incredibly and unbelievably lost, swimming among the ridiculous number of opportunities and pathways that were offered to us. I was tainted with fear… A distinct, all-encompassing fear of the unknown. And yet, through my high school experiences I have learned to find a sort of beauty in the unknown. Rather than a force to be feared, the unknown became a frontier to be explored and unveiled. I soon decided to join Mr. Bramante’s science research course at the high school, a side of the school which at the time seemed enveloped in an impenetrable fog of uncertainty, but now has become one of the defining points of my high school experience. Those uncountable nights, weekends, and holidays spent toiling away in the laboratory or presenting work in cities around the world have shown me the path to conquering the incomparable unknown that is scientific discovery.

In this way, I learned how to navigate the unknown without fear. Some of my most memorable high school experiences have been as a result of immersing myself in the unknown and the unfamiliar. I can still remember the indescribable thrill of racing through the packed sand of Tod’s Point, feet striking the ground as water upon hot coals, flying towards the finish line. I can still recall the incredible experiences and irreplaceable friendships formed through my time performing among the unimaginably talented and amazing cast, crew, directors and musicians of our school production of Annie, dancing and singing gleefully onstage without regard for embarrassment. It was through these experiences and so many more that I learned how to be fearless… Fearless to explore.

And yet, behind those moments of glee lie countless moments of darkness and of failure. For all of us, there have been moments when it felt as if all was lost, as if we couldn’t imagine the sun rising the very next day. For me, one moment in particular stands out in my mind. For two weeks of my junior year, my life became engulfed by a single, seemingly-trivial problem with my research, involving passing drugs through a pig skin membrane. Every day was another day in which I felt as I were drifting further and further away from what I had initially set out to solve. And yet I continued to push. I continued to fight. I planned and worked and searched and sang and cried, encountering failure upon failure upon failure. But I didn’t let these failures rend my soul, tear me to pieces, break me in half, no — Instead, I fought. And eventually, I won. I conquered the darkness. Now, thinking back on this time of my life, I can’t help but laugh… To think that only a year ago I had believed that the entirety of my life’s destiny rested upon a single disobedient slice of pig skin.  *PAUSE* And it was through these innumerable failures that I learned eventually to be fearless… To be fearless to fight.

But ultimately, each one of our lives and our destinies would not exist without the support and cooperation of those around us. Those teachers who have opened our eyes to the astonishing beauty of learning, those staff and administrators without whom none of this would have even been possible, those parents, siblings, grandparents, and family members whom have sacrificed so much to make us who we are today… But especially, each and every one of us, having stayed steadfast besides each other through thick and thin, through times of great strife and struggle, as well as through times of great passion and glee. I can still recall all of those moments we’ve shared together, both bad and good, whether the panic and confusion of the lockdown or the wild success of our donation drives, whether the shock and disbelief of a surprise election result or the indescribable joy of a wonderful music teacher’s return, whether the botched senior pranks or the godlike victories over the Blue Wave on this very football field. Through the moments of discomfort and uncertainty, as well as through the moments of joy and elation, through those moments in which our bonds have been strengthened as well as those in which our bonds have been stretched to their extremes, we have stood together, not letting our differences break the bonds which we have formed in our four years at the high school. Through our time together as a class, we have all learned to be fearless… Fearless to unite.

And so now, we stand upon a turning point in the course of our lives. These next few moments will be the last we ever share together as a class. After this ceremony’s adjournment, all of us will part and go our separate ways towards unimaginable directions. And yet at the same time, at the close of this ceremony, all of us will officially come together in becoming citizens of the world. As we step off the campus of Greenwich High School for the last time as students, we gain a new responsibility… A responsibility to be fearless. And now as I stand upon this stage I urge you to take this responsibility in stride. I ask that you do not be afraid to be a dreamer. To be an explorer. To be a fighter. To be united. I ask that you do not be afraid to innovate in developing solutions to our world’s greatest problems, to fight against the forces of hatred, prejudice, injustice, and inequality, to launch our world into a better and brighter future than the one we already have. For all of us, fear is but a false barrier standing in the way of progress, a demon standing in the way of enlightenment. In the words of Frank Herbert, “Fear is the mind-killer, the little-death that brings total obliteration. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” And so I urge you to conquer this fear. I urge you to stand up and be fearless. Because only by overcoming your fears may you come to change the world for the better. Thank you and congratulations, Class of 2017!