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Well, one thing that happened is that my grandparents, the same grandparents of setting someone on fire fame,
首先是我的外公外婆，就是嘗試在人身上點火的外公外婆，
they really shaped up by the time I came around. They provided me a stable home, a stable family.
在我出生之后改過自新了。他們給了我一個穩定的家，穩定的家庭。
They made sure that when my parents weren't able to do the things that kids need, they stepped in and filled that role.
他們竭盡全力，在我的父母無法盡到責任時他們能及時出現，頂替父母的角色。
My grandma especially did two things that really matter.
我的外婆做了2件非常重要的事。
One, she provided that peaceful home that allowed me to focus on homework and the things that kids should be focused on.
第一，她創造了和平的家庭環境，讓我專心做功課，專心做孩子應該做的事情。
But she was also this incredibly perceptive woman, despite not even having a middle school education.
而且她是一位洞察力極強的女性，盡管連中學都沒有上過。
She recognized the message that my community had for me, that my choices didn't matter, that the deck was stacked against me.
她察覺到了社區對我產生的不良影響，就是我們的選擇毫無意義，我們面前有重重阻礙。
She once told me, "JD, never be like those losers who think the deck is stacked against them. You can do anything you want to."
有一次她告訴我，“JD，不要像那些沒出息的人一樣，覺得整個世界都在跟他們作對。你可以做成任何想做的事情?！?/div>
And yet she recognized that life wasn't fair.
盡管她知道生活是不公平的。
It's hard to strike that balance, to tell a kid that life isn't fair,
要打破這種平衡非常難，要告訴一個孩子生活不公平也非常難。
but also recognize and enforce in them the reality that their choices matter. But mamaw was able to strike that balance.
但即使這樣，也要告訴孩子，他們的選擇是有意義的。但是外婆能打破這種平衡。
The other thing that really helped was the United States Marine Corps.
另一個幫到我的就是美國海軍陸戰隊。
So we think of the Marine Corps as a military outfit, and of course it is,
我們認為海軍陸戰隊是一個軍事單位，它當然是，
but for me, the US Marine Corps was a four-year crash course in character education.
但對我而言，美國海軍陸戰隊是一次長達4年的性格教育課程。
It taught me how to make a bed, how to do laundry, how to wake up early, how to manage my finances.
它教會我如何鋪床，怎么洗衣，怎么早起，怎么規劃自己的開銷。
These are things my community didn't teach me.
這些都是社區沒有教我的東西。
I remember when I went to go buy a car for the very first time,
我還記得第一次去買車，
I was offered a dealer's low, low interest rate of 21.9 percent, and I was ready to sign on the dotted line.
一個經銷商給了我非常非?！暗汀钡馁J款利息，21.9%，我都準備簽合同了。
But I didn't take that deal, because I went and took it to my officer who told me,
但我最后沒有簽，因為我把合同拿給我的長官看，他告訴我，
"Stop being an idiot, go to the local credit union, and get a better deal."
“別傻了，去找本地的信貸聯盟，拿一個更好的價。”
And so that's what I did. But without the Marine Corps, I would have never had access to that knowledge.
我照做了。如果沒有海軍陸戰隊，我可能永遠也沒法了解這個知識。
I would have had a financial calamity, frankly.
我可能還會遭遇財政危機。
