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What’s lost without commencement
失去畢業典禮意味著什么
By Kristine E. Guillaume and Jeremy Tsai
文/克里斯汀·E.紀堯姆和杰里米·蔡
Guillaume and Tsai are seniors at Harvard University
紀堯姆和蔡均為哈佛大學本屆的大四學生
This spring, most graduating college students will not participate in a traditional in-person celebration.
今年春天，大部分面臨畢業的大學生都不會參加傳統的畢業慶典了。
Universities swiftly acted as coronavirus spread across the country:
全國各地陸續陷入新冠疫情以后，各個大學立即迅速做出了響應：
students went home early, classes moved online, and commencement ceremonies were canceled or postponed.
早早將學生放回家，課程轉移到線上，畢業典禮要么取消，要么推遲。
Over the next month, former President Barack Obama will deliver multiple commencement speeches,
接下來的一個月，前總統巴奧巴馬將會發表多場畢業典禮致辭，
something thousands of students had called for as they looked for guidance and comfort in this unprecedented time.
請他致辭也是成千上萬學子的心聲，在這個前所未有的時候，他們需要指導，需要安慰。
But it’s hard not to miss real commencement.
問題是，我們很難不懷念切切實實的畢業典禮。
Days before we evacuated campus,
搬離校園的前幾天，
many of us had turned in our senior thesis, anticipating graduation and the last days of campus life.
很多人都已經提交了畢業論文，期許著畢業和最后幾天的大學生活。
For months, our lives had been confined to libraries and academic meetings.
因為在此之前，我們已經在圖書館和學術討論會里浸泡了好幾個月。
“We’ll hang out after,” we’d said.
我們曾說，“答辯結束一起出去玩呀。”
Instead, we packed our bags, said numb goodbyes and fled to separate parts of the world.
然而，我們并沒有等來那天，取而代之的是收拾行李，麻木的告別然后各自散落天涯。
Though the speeches are often riddled with trite remarks (Don’t be afraid to fail! Follow your dreams!),
盡管畢業典禮演講經常充斥著各種陳詞濫調(諸如“不要害怕失敗！”，“追隨你的夢想！”)，
we admit we find ourselves craving those clichés and the moments when speeches rise above them.
但我們還是要承認，我們還是渴望能聽到那些陳詞濫調，渴望那些陳詞濫調帶來的演講高潮。
In 2008, J. K. Rowling delivered the Harvard commencement address,
2008年，J.K.羅琳在哈佛大學畢業典禮上發表演講時
defending the importance of perseverance and imagination:
就聲援了毅力和想象力的重要性：
“We do not need magic to change the world,
“我們不需要依靠魔法來改變世界，
we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already; we have the power to imagine better.”
我們的內心就有這種力量，因為我們一直在夢想，把這個世界變得更加美好。”
Rowling’s speech gave a sense of agency over our lives.
羅琳的演講給人一種自我主宰人生的感覺。
Messages like this, delivered over the years by the likes of John F. Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey and Steve Jobs,
這些年來，約翰·F.肯尼迪、奧普拉·溫弗瑞和史蒂夫·喬布斯等人在畢業典禮致辭時傳遞的都是這樣的信息，
have propelled graduates into the future,
正是這些信息激勵著畢業生們擁抱未來，
helping them recognize who they are becoming and how that squares with who they want to be.
幫助著他們認識到他們會成為什么樣的人，以及如何拉近他們會成為的人與他們想要成為的人之間的距離。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
