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I am honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.
我今天很榮幸能與諸位一起參加畢業典禮。
Truth be told, I never graduated from college.
說實話，我從未大學畢業。
And this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.
這應該算是我一生中離大學畢業最近的一次了。
Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.
今天我想向你們講述我生活中的三個故事。
That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
不是什么大不了的事情，僅僅是三個故事而已。
The first story is about connecting the dots.
第一個故事是關于如何把生命中的點點滴滴串連起來。
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months.
我在雷德大學讀了六個月之后就退學了。
But then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit.
但是在十八個月以后——我真正的作出退學決定之前，我還是經常去學校。
So why did I drop out? It started before I was born.
那我為什么要退學呢？那要從我出生的時候講起。
My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student.
我的親生母親是一個年輕的，沒有結婚的大學畢業生。
And she decided to put me up for adoption.
她決定讓別人收養我。
She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife.
她十分想讓我被大學畢業生收養，所以她為我做好了一切，我被一個律師一家收養。
Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl.
但出乎意料的是，當我出生之后，律師夫婦突然想要一個女孩。
So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking.
所以我的養父母（在待選名單上的）突然在半夜接到了一個電話。
"We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?"
我們現在這兒有一個不小心生出來的男嬰，你們想要他嗎？”
They said: "Of course."
他們回答道：“當然！”
My biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school.
但是我生母隨后發現，我的養母從來沒有上過大學，我的養父甚至從未讀過高中。
She refused to sign the final adoption papers.
她拒絕簽這個收養合同。
She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
幾個月后，在我的養父母承諾一定會送我上大學后，她才勉強同意。
This was the start in my life.
這是我生活的開始。
