No graduation speaker will ever tell you that the future is anything but uncertain.It never is.But graduations need not only be obsessed with with looking ahead;a graduation can be a day on which we turn back and trace our steps to see how we ended up where we are.
没有一个毕业典礼的演讲者会告诉你未来全是未知。其实从来都是未知。但是毕业并不只是意味着狂热地展望未来；毕业那天，我们大可以回首过往，看看走过的路，我们是怎样走到今天的。
—Taylor Mali/American screenwriter
美国编剧 泰勒·马里
We come from a range of backgrounds and a diversity of mindsets.Yet we have learned to understand and empathize with others,even when their opinions differ from our own.Members of this class have traveled accross the country together,learning more about each other and themselves along the way.
我们有着不同的背景，多样的思维方式，但我们聚在了一起。就算别人的观念和我们的不一样，我们还是学着去理解他人，与他们共情。班里的同学们都来自全国各地，在相处的过程中对彼此和自身的了解更多了。
— William Epperson/high school graduate
高中毕业生 威廉·爱珀森
Outside of the classroom,learning to get along with such a diverse group of people is the staple part of the Riverwood experience that I cherish most.The laughs,roasts and tears we genuinely shared with each other - regardless of the color our skin,who we worship,or how much money we have - will forever be embedded in our memories and form who we are.In many ways these life experiences are more valuable than the piece of paper we are about to receive.
在Riverwood高中的经历里，我最珍爱的，也是最重要的一部分，就是在课堂之外，学者去和这一群形形色色的人相处。无论我们的肤色，信仰，财富如何，我们彼此分享过的欢笑、泪水、聚会会植根在记忆里，也把我们塑造成了现在的样子。从多方面来看，这些人生经历比起我们即将拿到的那张文凭要来的珍贵的多。
— Pascal Acree/high school graduate
高中毕业生 帕斯科·阿克力
I think it is safe to say that because of these interactions and the ways in which we have helped each other to grow,we are not the same people that entered the supper school as wide-eyed freshman 1,369 days ago.If nothing else,we are a little bit taller and get in trouble for not shaving a lot more.
我觉得完全可以说，正式因为这些互动交流以及成长中的互助，我们早已不是1369天之前刚进高中的那帮眼睛瞪得大大的新生了。至少，我们长高了点，而且不经常刮胡子的话会有麻烦的。
— William Epperson/high school graduate
高中毕业生 威廉·爱珀森
You are educated.Your certification is in your degree.You may think of it as the ticket to the good life.Let me ask you to think of an alternative.Think of it as your ticket to change the world.
你受了教育。文凭就是你的证明。你可能会觉得这张纸是你通往美好生活的通行证，那我得叫你换个思维。何不把文凭看作是你改变世界的钥匙呢。
— Tom Brokaw/American Actor
美国演员 汤姆·布罗考
You are graduating from college.That means this is the first day of the last day of your life.No,that's wrong.This is the last day of the first day of school.Nope,that's worse.This is a day.
你马上要大学毕业了。这就意味着，今天是你生活中最后一天的第一天。呃，不对，错了。今天是你在校的第一天的最后一天。哎，也不对，错的更离谱了。这就是普通的一天而已。
— Andy Samberg/American film producer
美国电影制作人 安迪·桑博格
You can't connect the dots looking forward;you can only connect the looking backwards.So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.You have to trust in something - your gut,dstiny,life,karma,whatever.This approach has never let me down,and it has made all the difference in my life.
展望未来的话你是没法串联起这些点的，你只能在回首过往的时候把它们串起来。所以，你必须相信，未来的某天这些点会自己连起来。你一定要相信一些东西—你的胆量、你的目标、你的生活、因果报应等等。这个方法从来没有失败过，也正是它造就了我生活中所有的不同。
— Steve Jobs/Apple founder
苹果公司创始人 史蒂夫·乔布斯
The definition of success changes.Success is to live your life with integrity and not give in to peer pressure to be something you're not.Follow your passion,stay true to yourself,never follow someone else's path;unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path,then by all means,you should follow that.
成功的定义是不断变化的。成功就是正直做人，面对同龄人压力逼着你成为自己不想成为的样子的时候勇敢说不。紧跟你的热爱，对自己诚实，不要走别人的路。除非你在森林里迷了路，这时正巧看到一条小路，那么你走那条路当然没问题。
— Ellen DeGeneres/American talk show hostess
美国脱口秀主持人 艾伦·德杰尼勒斯