Thank you, President Washington, for the invitation to speak today and for the honorary degree. This school is special to me for several reasons – many of my own students at NOVA transfer here. But another reason is the leadership George Mason showed when we launched Joining Forces so many years ago. This college was one of the first to join “Operation Educate the Educators” to better equip teachers helping military-connected students…And you remain committed to serving our military community and their families.
华盛顿校长，谢谢你邀请我今天发言并授予我荣誉学位。这所学校对我来说非常特别，有几个原因——一个原因是我自己在北弗吉尼亚社区学院的许多学生转学到这里，但更重要的原因是乔治·梅森在多年前发起联合部队时表现出的领导力。这所学院是首批加入“教育工作者行动”的学院之一，以更好地装备教师帮助与军事相关的学生......你们今天仍然致力于为我们的军事社区及其家庭服务。
So, I’m excited to be able to address the Class of 2021.
因此，我很高兴能够向2021届学生发表演讲。
Though there is no crowd of friends and family to see you cross a stage today – sitting beside you or watching from far away, there are so many people cheering you on.
虽然今天没有众多朋友和家人坐在你身边或从远处看着你们跨过舞台，但有无数的人在为你加油。
It might be your mom or dad – or that person who feels like a mom or dad – your siblings, your teachers, your friends. They’re feeling excitement. Relief. But most of all, pride. Chest-swelling, cheek-aching pride.
可能是你的父母——或者那个感觉像父母的人——你的兄弟姐妹、老师、朋友。他们感到兴奋、放松，但最重要的是，骄傲，挺胸抬头的那种骄傲。
Now, I know that commencement speeches are usually life lessons from the speaker.
我知道毕业典礼演讲通常是演讲者的生活教训。
But instead, I want to talk about you today.
但今天我想谈谈你们。
I want you to look back on everything you’ve accomplished here at GMU – especially in this last year.
我想让你们回顾一下你在这里所收获的一切——特别是在去年。
For some, that will be harder than for others. But I want you to think about the moments that made you just laugh out loud…When you felt deeply grateful for the people in your life…
对一些人来说可能更难。但我想让你想想那些让你大笑的时刻......当你深深感激你生命中的人时......
Picture the times when the beauty of the world stopped you in your tracks…An act of kindness that caught you off guard…
想象一下，在你前行的路上被美景吸引停下脚步的时候......一种让你措手不及的善举......
Or a morning when the leaves glowed greener than you thought that they could, and the sun shone just right, and you knew that things would be OK.
或者一个早晨，树叶比你想象的更绿，阳光正好照耀着，你知道一切都会好起来的。
You see, trials like the last year can teach us a lot about ourselves. They can show us what matters most and strip away those things that only seemed important.
你看，像去年这样的考验可以教会我们很多关于我们自己的知识。它们可以向我们展示什么最重要，什么仅是表明看似重要的东西。
We see that joy can be found, even in the worst of times.
我们看到即使在最糟糕的时候，也能找到快乐。
We see the strength that has always been in us.
我们看到我们身上一直拥有的力量。
And we realize our limitations as well.
我们也意识到我们的局限。