I Wish You Bad Luck

I Wish You Bad Luck

祝你不幸

Congratulations, class of 2017. You've reached an important milestone. An important stage of your life is behind you. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you it is the easiest stage of your life, but it is in the books. While you've been at Cardigan, you have all been a part of an important international community as well. And I think that needs to be particularly recognized.

祝贺你们，2017届同学。这是你们人生中的一个里程碑。一个重要阶段已经过去了，我真不想告诉你们这是你们一生中最容易的阶段，不过书里就是这么写的。Cardigan中学也是一个国际化的群体，这一点同样值得强调。

Now around the country today at colleges, high schools, middle schools, commencement speakers are standing before impatient graduates. And they are almost always saying the same things. They will say that today is a commencement exercise. 'It is a beginning, not an end. You should look forward.' And I think that is true enough, however, I think if you're going to look forward to figure out where you're going, it's good to know where you've been and to look back as well.

今天，全国的大学、高中、初中都有人在向不耐烦的毕业生发表讲话，讲的都是老一套：“这只是开始，不是结束，要向前看”。这句话当然是对的，不过我认为如果要向前看，最好先看看脚下，再看看身后。

And I think if you look back to your first afternoon here at Cardigan, perhaps you will recall that you were lonely. Perhaps you will recall that you were a little scared, a little anxious. And now look at you. You are surrounded by friends that you call brothers, and you are confident in facing the next step in your education.

回想来到Cardigan中学的第一天下午，你或许会想起自己当时多么孤独，可能还有点害怕，有点焦虑。现在，你身边全是亲如手足的朋友，而且你自信满满，准备迎接下一阶段的教育。

It is worth trying to think why that is so.

为什么会发生这么大的变化呢？这个问题值得思考。

And when you do, I think you may appreciate that it was because of the support of your classmates in the classroom, on the athletic field and in the dorms. And as far as the confidence goes, I think you will appreciate that it is not because you succeeded at everything you did, but because with the help of your friends, you were not afraid to fail. And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, it might be time to think about doing something else. But it was not just success, but not being afraid to fail that brought you to this point.

你可能要感谢在教室里、操场上和寝室里支持你的那些同学，你之所以如此自信，不是因为你事事成功，而是因为有朋友相助。如果不幸失败，你爬起来再试一次；如果又失败了，你

又爬起来再试一次；如果又失败了……你可能要考虑换个方向。但让你走到今天这个位置的不是成功，而是不害怕失败。

Now the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I'll tell you why.

毕业演讲嘉宾一般都要祝大家好运，但我偏不这么做，并且我会告诉你们为什么。

From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don't take friends for granted.

未来的岁月里，我希望你遭遇不公，这样你才会明白正义的价值。我希望你遭受背叛，这样你才会明白忠诚的宝贵。抱歉，我还希望你偶尔感到孤独，这样你才不会把朋友视作理所当然。

I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you'll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.

我也祝你偶尔倒霉，这样你才能体会运气在人生中所起的作用，从而明白你的成功不完全是天道酬勤，别人的失败也未必是咎由自取。当你遭遇失败时，我希望你的对手幸灾乐祸，如此你才会明白运动精神有多么重要。我希望你被他人忽视，这样你才会明白倾听的可贵；我也希望你体验那么一点儿痛苦，好学会同情别人。

Whether I wish these things or not, they're going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.

无论我愿不愿意，这些事都会发生。你能否从中受益，则取决于你能不能从厄运中学到人生的智慧。

Now commencement speakers are also expected to give some advice. They give grand advice, and they give some useful tips. The most common grand advice they give is for you to be yourself. It is an odd piece of advice to give people dressed identically, but you should —you should be yourself. But you should understand what that means.

毕业演讲嘉宾也要给大家一些建议，有泛泛的大道理，也有实用的小窍门。最常见的大道理，就是“做你自己”。对毕业生说这句话真是很奇怪，瞧你们都穿的一模一样……不过这句话说得没错，你应该做你自己。你更要理解这句话的含义。

Unless you are perfect, it does not mean don't make any changes. In a certain sense, you should not be yourself. You should try to become something better. People say 'be yourself' because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can't be yourself if you don't learn who you are, and you can't learn who you are unless you think about it.

“做自己”不是叫你原地踏步，除非你是一个完人，否则你就不能“做自己”，而要努力成为一个更好的人。人们说“做你自己”，是教你不要随波逐流，变成别人想让你成为的样子。但是，你只有知道自己是谁，才能做你自己；只有认真思考，才能知道自己是谁。

The Greek philosopher Socrates said, 'The unexamined life is not worth living.' And while 'just do it' might be a good motto for some things, it's not a good motto when it's trying to figure out how to live your life that is before you. And one important clue to living a good life is to not to try to live the good life. The best way to lose the values that are central to who you are is frankly not to think about them at all.

希腊哲学家苏格拉底曾说：“未经审视的人生不值得过”。“Just do it”在某些方面可能是一句不错的座右铭，但当你还没想清楚如何度过未来的人生时，可不要奉行这句话。度过美好人生的一个重要诀窍，就是不要试图度过所谓的美好人生。如果你不去思考对你最重要的价值是什么，你就会失去最重要的价值。

So that's the deep advice. Now some tips as you get ready to go to your new school. Other the last couple of years, I have gotten to know many of you young men pretty well, and I know you are good guys. But you are also privileged young men. And if you weren't privileged when you came here, you are privileged now because you have been here. My advice is: Don't act like it.

以上是我给你们的深刻建议，接下来说点儿实用的。你们马上就要进入新学校了。过去几年间，我认识了这里的不少小伙子，我知道你们都是很好的小伙子。但你们也是生来就比别人条件优越的小伙子，即使你进入这所学校时还不算优越，现在也够优越了，因为你是这里毕业的。我的建议是：不要表现得很优越。

When you get to your new school, walk up and introduce yourself to the person who is raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash. Learn their name and call them by their name during your time at the school. Another piece of advice: When you pass by people you don't recognize on the walks, smile, look them in the eye and say hello. The worst thing that will happen is that you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello, and that is not a bad thing to start with.

你到新学校以后，请走向那个扫树叶的人、铲雪的人或倒垃圾的人，主动介绍自己。你要记住他们的名字，在校期间要以姓名称呼他们。另一条忠告：当你与不认识的人擦肩而过时，请露出微笑，看着他们的眼睛说“你好”。最糟糕的情况不过是得一个外号——“那个笑着说你好的年轻人”，在一个新环境里，这并不是一件坏事。

You've been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls. I have no

advice for you.

过去你们读的是男校，未来你们大部分人会进入有女孩的学校。这方面我没有什么建议。

The last bit of advice I'll give you is very simple, but I think it could make a big difference in your life. Once a week, you should write a note to someone. Not an email. A note on a piece of paper. It will take you exactly 10 minutes. Talk to an adult, let them tell you what a stamp is. You can put the stamp on the envelope. Again, 10 minutes, once a week. I will help you, right now. I will dictate to you the first note you should write.

我给你们的最后一条建议很简单，但我认为会给你们的生活带来很大的改变。一周一次，给某人写张便条。不是电子邮件，一张写在纸上的便条。只需十分钟就行了。找个成年人问问什么是“邮票”，把邮票贴在信封上。再说一遍，10分钟，一周一次。我现在就来教你们，第一张便条应该写什么。

It will say, 'Dear [fill in the name of a teacher at Cardigan Mountain School].' Say: 'I have started at this new school. We are reading [blank] in English. Football or soccer practice is hard, but I'm enjoying it. Thank you for teaching me.'

你这么写：“亲爱的某某某（这里填上Cardigan中学某位老师的名字）：我已经开始了新学校的生活。我们英语课在念某某书。足球／橄榄球训练很难，但我喜欢。谢谢您教我。”

Put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it. It will mean a great deal to people who —for reasons most of us cannot contemplate —have dedicated themselves to teaching middle school boys.

把这张纸条放进信封，贴上邮票寄出去。这张纸条会使某个不知为什么居然甘愿投身于中学教育的人非常感动。

As I said, that will take you exactly 10 minutes a week. By the end of the school year, you will have sent notes to 40 people. Forty people will feel a little more special because you did, and they will think you are very special because of what you did. No one else is going to carry that dividend during your time at school.

像我说的，每周只要花你10分钟就行了。到学年结束的时候，你就给40个人写过便条。40个人会因为你做了这件小事而感觉有点不一样，他们也会觉得你是个有点不一样的人。在你在校期间，只有你一个人能享受这种特殊待遇。

Enough advice. I would like to end by reading some important lyrics. I cited the Greek philosopher Socrates earlier. These lyrics are from the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan.

建议够多了，我想用一段歌词来结束今天的演讲。刚才我引用了古希腊哲学家苏格拉底，接下来我要引用伟大的美国哲学家，鲍勃·迪伦。

They're almost 50 years old. He wrote them for his son, Jesse, who he was missing while he was on tour. It lists the hopes that a parent might have for a son and for a daughter. They're also good goals for a son and a daughter. The wishes are beautiful, they're timeless. They're universal. They're good and true, except for one: It is the wish that gives the song its title and its refrain. That wish is a parent's lament. It's not a good wish.

这段歌词是迪伦将近半个世纪前写下的，当时他在巡回演出，思念儿子Jesse，就给他写了这首歌。这里列出了一个做父母的对儿子或女儿可能怀有的全部愿望，也是一个儿子或女儿理想的目标。这些愿望是美好的，是永恒的，也是共通的。这些愿望很好很诚恳，除了做标题的那句，那是父母的叹息。那不是一个好愿望。

下面是鲍勃·迪伦的Forever Young：

May God bless you and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

And may you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

And may you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

May your song always be sung

And may you stay forever young

Thank you.