First lady Michelle Obama has some advice for some Tennessee high school graduates: Strike your own path in college and life and work to overcome inevitable failures with determination and grit.
Mrs. Obama spoke for 22 minutes to the graduates of Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School on Saturday in her only high school commencement address this year. The ceremony took place in the gymnasium of nearby Tennessee State University.
The first lady told the 170 graduates that she spent too much of her own time in college focusing on academic achievements. While her success in college and law school led to a high-profile job, she said, she ended up leaving to focus on public service.
“My message to all of you today is this: Do not waste a minute living someone else’s dream,” she said. “It takes a lot of real work to discover what brings you joy … and you won’t find what you love simply by checking boxes or padding your GPA.”
Mrs. Obama lauded the school — it’s on the site of one of the city’s first to educate African-Americans — for its graduation rate, spirit of volunteerism and healthy food programs. She noted that each graduate was going on to either higher education or the military.
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She said MLK reminded her of her own high school experience in Chicago.
“My No. 1 goal was to go to a high school that would push me and challenge me,” she said. “I wanted to go somewhere that would celebrate achievement. A place where academic success wouldn’t make me a target of teasing or bullying, but instead would be a badge of honor.”
But Mrs. Obama lamented that not all students have the same opportunities.
Unfortunately, schools like this don’t exist for every kid,” she said. “You are blessed.”
The first lady told graduates that failure may be a part of their college lives and careers, and that how they respond to any pitfalls will define them.
“That’s when you find out what you’re really made of in those hard times,” she said. “But you can only do that if you’re willing to put yourself in a position where you might fail.”
Overcoming adversity has been the hallmark of many great people, she said.
“Oprah was demoted from her first job as a news anchor, and now she doesn’t even need a last name,” she said of media giant Oprah Winfrey. “And then there’s this guy Barack Obama … he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband.”
The first lady joked: “I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures.”
Mrs. Obama later presented graduate diplomas on stage and posed for photos with graduates.
“We didn’t know we would get to hug her,” said graduate Natey Kinzounza, 18. “She’s got a great sense of humor. She’s like my mom, she’s just a very real person.”
又是一年毕业季，美国第一夫人·奥巴马5月18日向毕业生现身说法，告诫他们在大学、生活和工作中要走自己的路，依靠决心和勇气战胜不可避免的失败。
据美国媒体报道，当天在田纳西州马丁·路德·金高中毕业典礼上致辞。在22分钟的演讲中，她告诉170名毕业生，当年她在大学致力于学业，之后如愿以偿地摘取高职，但最终投身公共服务。
“今天我要告诉大家的是：不要为别人的梦想浪费一分钟。要想知道带给你快乐的是什么，必须付出真正的努力。仅仅依靠查看邮箱或夸大成绩，你不会找到钟爱的工作。”
她说，马丁·路德·金高中让她联想到自己在芝加哥的高中经历。
“我的第一目标是进入能提高和考验我的高中。”她说，“我想去一个歌颂成绩的地方。在那里，学术成功不会使我成为戏弄或欺负的对象，而是荣誉的象征。”
但奥巴马夫人感慨万千：并非所有学生都有同样的机遇。她说，“可惜，这样的学校并非为每个孩子而存在，你们很幸运。”
她告诉毕业生们，失败也许是他们大学生活和职业生涯的一部分，未来取决于他们如何面对困难和错误。
她说，战胜逆境一直是许多伟大人物的标志。
“奥普拉从事第一份新闻主播工作时曾被降职，而今，提到她甚至不需要提她的姓。”她提到传媒巨人奥普拉·温弗里，“还有巴拉克·奥巴马这个家伙。第一次国会竞选，他大败而归，而现在，他开始自称是我的丈夫。”
第一夫人开玩笑说，“我可以用整个下午讲他的失败。”
随后，奥巴马夫人在台上为毕业生颁发了毕业证书，并与他们合影留念。
“我们不知道我们会拥抱她。”18岁的毕业生纳蒂·金宗齐说，“她幽默诙谐。她就好像我妈妈，是非常真实的人。”