一篇美国中学生毕业演讲稿[转贴]

I stand before you as a typical teenager, young and naïve and with relatively little experience under my belt. This is an obligatory disclaimer, so that you take my words for what they are – just the simple observations of a little girl. But, that being said, I would like to share with you the one real thing I think I’ve learned throughout these four years at Lamar, and through all these years of growing up. It is this: that life is beautiful, and we’d better live it while we can. As obvious as this statement is, it’s taken me awhile to figure out. It’s true, we adolescents are unthinkably moody, and probably as whiny as boiling teakettles. The smallest things are enough to make us explode – for example chemistry tests, and research papers, and annoying members of the opposite gender. Our hormones send us into periodic bouts of anger and depression, and I think we’ve all experienced this at some point – I know mine came my sophomore year, when I held this almost nihilist attitude, everything seemed so meaningless and dark and futile. But I have learned that these feelings are transient, and they pass with time, with the indispensable help of teachers, family and the best of best friends. There’s just something irresistible about this world we live in, like chocolate, and despite the fear and terror, we just can’t get enough of it. At this point, you’re perhaps wondering what I mean when I talk of such grand things as “life” and “beauty.” The reason I generalize is because life means so many things to each one of us. For me, I see beauty in the way the wind blows through narrow spaces; I taste it in the summer rain that patters against my cheek. For you, beauty might be the light reflecting off of your LCD monitor, or the shiny tires of your new red truck. It is different for all of us, and our interpretations number as countless as the midnight stars. But, as differently as our thoughts vary, I think we can agree here and now, that life might also be beautiful during a moment like this – a time of goals fought-for and finally won, a bittersweet ending and renewal. After today, some of us are leaving for college, others for the military, still others for the job market. No matter which way we go, and where we end up, I say to you this, my friends: that the world will always be wonderful, if only we look for it, and find the beauty in every situation. For these are not the best years of our lives, like movies and songs make them out to be – I refuse to believe it. On the contrary, I believe that each moment will be equally lovely, just with new things to feel and experience. We will laugh and cry, and succeed and fail, and we will make mistakes – but in the end we will have lived! It is as the wizard Gandalf once said – the times can be dark and dangerous, even treacherous, but “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” And that is all anyone can do or say. Thank you, and good luck, Class of 2005.