Now, graduates, all these folks around you, I have to say, though, with the cameras and the beaming（喜气洋洋的，愉快的） smiles -- they’ve worked hard to give you everything you need to pursue your dreams and fulfill¹ your God-given talent.  Unfortunately, you can’t take them with you when you leave here.  (Laughter.)  No one is going to go follow you around making sure that you’re getting to class on time, making sure you’re doing your work.  Nobody is going to be doing that for you.  Going forward, that’s all on you -- responsibility for your success is squarely（干脆地，诚实地） on your shoulders.

And the question I have for you today is this:  What is each -- what are each of you going to do to meet that responsibility?

Now, right now you’re getting plenty of advice from everybody.  Some of it’s helpful.  (Laughter.)  And so I hate to pile on with advice.  But while I’m here -- (laughter) -- what the heck.  (Laughter.)  I figure I should offer a few thoughts based on my own experiences, but also based on my hopes for all of you, and for our country, in the years ahead.

First, understand that your success in life won’t be determined² just by what’s given to you, or what happens to you, but by what you do with all that’s given to you; what you do with all that happens to you; how hard you try; how far you push yourself; how high you’re willing to reach.  True excellence³ only comes with perseverance⁴（坚持不懈） .

This wasn’t something I really understood when I was back your age.  My father, some of you know, left my family when I was two years old.  I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents.  (Applause.)  And sometimes I had a tendency to goof⁵ off（混日子，游手好闲） .  As my mother put it, I had a tendency sometimes to act a bit casual about my future.  (Laughter.)  Sometimes I was rebellious⁶（反抗的，难控制的） .  Sometimes I partied a little too much.  (Applause.)  Oh, yes, yes, this is a cautionary tale.  (Laughter.)  Don’t be cheering when I say that.  (Laughter.)  Studied just enough to get by.  I thought hard work, responsibility, that’s old-fashioned.  That’s just people want to tell me what to do.

But after a few years, after I was living solely⁷ on my own and I realized that living solely for my own entertainment wasn’t so entertaining anymore, that it wasn’t particularly satisfying anymore, that I didn’t seem to be making much of a ripple⁸（波纹，涟漪） in the world, I started to change my tune⁹.  I realized that by refusing to apply myself, there was nothing I could point to that I was proud of that would last.

Now, you come of an age in a popular culture that actually reinforces this approach to life.  You watch TV, and basically what it says is you can be rich and successful without much effort; you just have to become a celebrity¹⁰.  (Laughter.)  If you can achieve some reality TV notoriety（恶名，臭名） , that’s better than lasting¹¹ achievement.  We live in a culture that tells you there’s a quick fix for every problem and a justification¹² for every selfish desire.  And all of you were raised with cell phones and iPods, and texting and emails, and you’re able to call up a fact, or a song, or a friend with the click of a button.  So you’re used to instant gratification（满意，喜悦） .

But meaningful achievement, lasting success -- it doesn’t happen in an instant.  It’s not about luck, it’s not about a sudden stroke of genius.  It’s not usually about talent.  It’s usually about daily effort, the large choices and the small choices that you make that add up over time.  It’s about the skills you build, and the knowledge you accumulate, and the energy you invest in every task, no matter how trivial（不重要的，琐碎的） or menial（卑微的） it may seem at the time.

You’ve got an alum（明矾） who plays for the Yankees, I hear.  He’s supposed to be pretty good.  (Applause.)  Now, Derek Jeter wasn’t born playing shortstop for the Yankees.  He got there through years of effort.  And his high school baseball coach once remarked, “I’m surprised he still doesn’t have blisters¹³（水疱，气泡） and that I don’t have the blisters on my hands from hitting ground balls just for Derek.”  He always wanted more:  ‘How about one more turn in the batting cage（击球练习的挡网） ?  Or 25 more ground balls?’”

Thomas Edison tested more than 6,000 different materials for just one tiny part of the light bulb that he invented.  Think about that -- 6,000 tests.  J.K. Rowling’s first Harry¹⁴ Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published.  Mozart was a musical prodigy¹⁵（奇迹） , but he practiced for hours each day -- accumulating thousands of hours at the piano by the time he was just six years old.  I understand that your boys’ basketball team did pretty good.  (Applause.)  First state champions for the first time in 59 years.  That didn’t happen by accident.  They put in work.  They put in effort.

So, today, you all have a rare and valuable chance to pursue your own passions, chase your own dreams without incurring¹⁶ a mountain of debt.  What an incredible gift.  So you’ve got no excuse for giving anything less than your best effort.  (Applause.)  No excuses.