第一篇：《实习医生格蕾》编剧莱梅斯在达特茅斯学院毕业典礼上的演讲(视频+文本)
President Hanlon, faculty, staff, honored guests, parents, students, families and friends—good morning and congratulations to the Dartmouth graduating class of 2014!So.This is weird.Me giving a speech.In general, I do not like giving speeches.Giving a speech requires standing in front of large groups of people while they look at you and it also requires talking.I can do the standing part OK.But the you looking and the me talking...I am not a fan.I get this overwhelming feeling of fear.Terror, really.Dry mouth, heart beats superfast, everything gets a little bit slow motion.Like I might pass out.Or die.Or poop my pants or something.I mean, don’t worry.I’m not going to pass out or die or poop my pants.Mainly because just by telling you that it could happen, I have somehow neutralized it as an option.Like as if saying it out loud casts some kind of spell where now it cannot possibly happen now.Vomit.I could vomit.See.Vomiting is now also off the table.Neutralized it.We’re good.Anyway, the point is.I do not like to give speeches.I’m a writer.I’m a TV writer.I like to write stuff for other people to say.I actually contemplated bringing Ellen Pompeo or Kerry Washington here to say my speech for me...but my lawyer pointed out that when you drag someone across state lines against their will, the FBI comes looking for you, so...I don’t like giving speeches, in general, because of the fear and terror.But this speech? This speech, I really did not want to give.A Dartmouth Commencement speech? Dry mouth.Heart beats so, so fast.Everything in slow motion.Pass out, die, poop.Look, it would be fine if this were, 20 years ago.If it were back in the day when I graduated from Dartmouth.Twenty-three years ago, I was sitting right where you are now.And I was listening to Elizabeth Dole speak.And she was great.She was calm and she was confident.It was just...different.It felt like she was just talking to a group of people.Like a fireside chat with friends.Just Liddy Dole and like 9,000 of her closest friends.Because it was 20 years ago.And she was just talking to a group of people.Now? Twenty years later? This is no fireside chat.It’s not just you and me.This speech is filmed and streamed and tweeted and uploaded.NPR has like, a whole site dedicated to Commencement speeches.A whole site just about commencement speeches.There are sites that rate them and mock them and dissect them.It’s weird.And stressful.And kind of vicious if you’re an introvert perfectionist writer who hates speaking in public in the first place.When President Hanlon called me—and by the way, I would like to thank President Hanlon for asking me way back in January, thus giving me a full six months of terror and panic to enjoy.When President Hanlon called me, I almost said no.Almost.Dry mouth.Heart beats so, so fast.Everything in slow motion.Pass out, die, poop.But I’m here.I am gonna do it.I’m doing it.You know why?
Because I like a challenge.And because this year I made myself a promise that I was going to do the stuff that terrifies me.And because, 20-plus years ago when I was trudging uphill from the River Cluster through all that snow to get to the Hop for play rehearsal, I never imagined that I would one day be standing here, at the Old Pine lectern.Staring out at all of you.About to throw down on some wisdom in the Dartmouth Commencement address.So, you know, yeah.Moments.Also, I’m here because I really, really wanted some EBAs.OK.I want to say right now that every single time someone asked me what I was going to talk about in this speech, I would boldly and confidently tell them that I had all kinds wisdom to share.I was lying.I feel wildly unqualified to give you advice.There is no wisdom here.So all I can do is talk about some stuff that could maybe be useful to you, from one Dartmouth grad to another.Some stuff that won’t ever show up in a Meredith Grey voiceover or a Papa Pope monologue.Some stuff I probably shouldn’t be telling you here now because of the uploading and the streaming and the tweeting.But I am going to pretend that it is 20 years ago.That it’s just you and me.That we’re having a fireside chat.Screw the outside world and what they think.I’ve already said “poop” like five times already anyway...things are getting real up in here.OK, wait.Before I talk to you.I want to talk to your parents.Because the other thing about it being 20 years later is that I’m a mother now.So I know some things, some very different things.I have three girls.I’ve been to the show.You don’t know what that means, but your parents do.You think this day is all about you.But your parents...the people who raised you...the people who endured you...they potty trained you, they taught you to read, they survived you as a teenager, they have suffered 21 years and not once did they kill you.This day...you call it your graduation day.But this day is not about you.This is their day.This is the day they take back their lives, this is the day they earn their freedom.This day is their Independence Day.So, parents, I salute you.And as I have an eight-month-old, I hope to join your ranks of freedom in 20 years!
OK.So here comes the real deal part of the speech, or you might call it, Some Random Stuff Some Random Alum Who Runs a TV Show Thinks I Should Know Before I Graduate:
You ready?
When people give these kinds of speeches, they usually tell you all kinds of wise and heartfelt things.They have wisdom to impart.They have lessons to share.They tell you: Follow your dreams.Listen to your spirit.Change the world.Make your mark.Find your inner voice and make it sing.Embrace failure.Dream.Dream and dream big.As a matter of fact, dream and don’t stop dreaming until all of your dreams come true.I think that’s crap.I think a lot of people dream.And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, engaged, powerful people, are busy doing.The dreamers.They stare at the sky and they make plans and they hope and they talk about it endlessly.And they start a lot of sentences with “I want to be...” or “I wish.”
“I want to be a writer.” “I wish I could travel around the world.”
And they dream of it.The buttoned-up ones meet for cocktails and they brag about their dreams, and the hippie ones have vision boards and they meditate about their dreams.Maybe you write in journals about your dreams or discuss it endlessly with your best friend or your girlfriend or your mother.And it feels really good.You’re talking about it, and you’re planning it.Kind of.You are blue-skying your life.And that is what everyone says you should be doing.Right? I mean, that’s what Oprah and Bill Gates did to get successful, right?
No.Dreams are lovely.But they are just dreams.Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty.But dreams do not come true just because you dream them.It’s hard work that makes things happen.It’s hard work that creates change.So, Lesson One, I guess is: Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer.Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you’re paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is.The truth is, it doesn’t matter.You don’t have to know.You just have to keep moving forward.You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new.It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life.Perfect is boring and dreams are not real.Just...do.So you think, “I wish I could travel.” Great.Sell your crappy car, buy a ticket to Bangkok, and go.Right now.I’m serious.You want to be a writer? A writer is someone who writes every day, so start writing.You don’t have a job? Get one.Any job.Don’t sit at home waiting for the magical opportunity.Who are you? Prince William? No.Get a job.Go to work.Do something until you can do something else.I did not dream of being a TV writer.Never, not once when I was here in the hallowed halls of the Ivy League, did I say to myself, “Self, I want to write TV.”
You know what I wanted to be? I wanted to be Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.That was my dream.I blue sky’ed it like crazy.I dreamed and dreamed.And while I was dreaming, I was living in my sister’s basement.Dreamers often end up living in the basements of relatives, FYI.Anyway, there I was in that basement, and I was dreaming of being Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.And guess what? I couldn’t be Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, because Toni Morrison already had that job and she wasn’t interested in giving it up.So one day I was sitting in that basement and I read an article that said—it was in The New York Times—and it said it was harder to get into USC Film School than it was to get into Harvard Law School.And I thought I could dream about being Toni Morrison, or I could do.At film school, I discovered an entirely new way of telling stories.A way that suited me.A way that brought me joy.A way that flipped this switch in my brain and changed the way I saw the world.Years later, I had dinner with Toni Morrison.All she wanted to talk about was Grey’s Anatomy.That never would have happened if I hadn’t stopped dreaming of becoming her and gotten busy becoming myself.Lesson Two.Lesson two is that tomorrow is going to be the worst day ever for you.When I graduated from Dartmouth that day in 1991, when I was sitting right where you are and I was staring up at Elizabeth Dole speaking, I will admit that I have no idea what she was saying.Couldn’t even listen to her.Not because I was overwhelmed or emotional or any of that.But because I had a serious hangover.Like, an epic painful hangover because(and here is where I apologize to President Hanlon because I know that you are trying to build a better and more responsible Dartmouth and I applaud you and I admire you and it is very necessary)but I was really freaking drunk the night before.And the reason I’d been so drunk the night before, the reason I’d done upside down margarita shots at Bones Gate was because I knew that after graduation, I was going to take off my cap and gown, my parents were going to pack my stuff in the car and I was going to go home and probably never come back to Hanover again.And even if I did come back, it wouldn’t matter because it wouldn’t be the same because I didn’t live here anymore.On my graduation day, I was grieving.My friends were celebrating.They were partying.They were excited.So happy.No more school, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.And I was like, are you freaking kidding me? You get all the fro-yo you want here!The gym is free.The apartments in Manhattan are smaller than my suite in North Mass.Who cared if there was no place to get my hair done? All my friends are here.I have a theatre company here.I was grieving.I knew enough about how the world works, enough about how adulthood plays out, to be grieving.Here’s where I am going to embarrass myself and make you all feel maybe a little bit better about yourselves.I literally lay down on the floor of my dorm room and cried while my mother packed up my room.I refused to help her.Like, hell no I won’t go.I nonviolent-protested leaving here.Like, went limp like a protestor, only without the chanting—it was really pathetic.If none of you lie down on a dirty hardwood floor and cry today while your mommy packs up your dorm room, you are already starting your careers out ahead of me.You are winning.But here’s the thing.The thing I really felt like I knew was that the real world sucks.And it is scary.College is awesome.You’re special here.You’re in the Ivy League, you are at the pinnacle of your life’s goals at this point—your entire life up until now has been about getting into some great college and then graduating from that college.And now, today, you have done it.The moment you get out of college, you think you are going to take the world by storm.All doors will be opened to you.It’s going to be laughter and diamonds and soirees left and right.What really happens is that, to the rest of the world, you are now at the bottom of the heap.Maybe you’re an intern, possibly a low-paid assistant.And it is awful.The real world, it sucked so badly for me.I felt like a loser all of the time.And more than a loser? I felt lost.Which brings me to clarify lesson number two.Tomorrow is going to be the worst day ever for you.But don’t be an asshole.Here’s the thing.Yes, it is hard out there.But hard is relative.I come from a middle-class family, my parents are academics, I was born after the civil rights movement, I was a toddler during the women’s movement, I live in the United States of America, all of which means I’m allowed to own my freedom, my rights, my voice, and my uterus;and I went to Dartmouth and I earned an Ivy League degree.The lint in my navel that accumulated while I gazed at it as I suffered from feeling lost about how hard it was to not feel special after graduation...that navel lint was embarrassed for me.Elsewhere in the world, girls are harmed simply because they want to get an education.Slavery still exists.Children still die from malnutrition.In this country, we lose more people to handgun violence than any other nation in the world.Sexual assault against women in America is pervasive and disturbing and continues at an alarming rate.So yes, tomorrow may suck for you—as it did for me.But as you stare at the lint in your navel, have some perspective.We are incredibly lucky.We have been given a gift.An incredible education has been placed before us.We ate all the fro-yo we could get our hands on.We skied.We had EBAs at 1 a.m.We built bonfires and got frostbite and had all the free treadmills.We beer-ponged our asses off.Now it’s time to pay it forward.Find a cause you love.It’s OK to pick just one.You are going to need to spend a lot of time out in the real world trying to figure out how to stop feeling like a lost loser, so one cause is good.Devote some time every week to it.Oh.And while we are discussing this, let me say a thing.A hashtag is not helping.#yesallwomen#takebackthenight#notallmen#bringbackourgirls #StopPretendingHashtagsAreTheSameAsDoingSomething
Hashtags are very pretty on Twitter.I love them.I will hashtag myself into next week.But a hashtag is not a movement.A hashtag does not make you Dr.King.A hashtag does not change anything.It’s a hashtag.It’s you, sitting on your butt, typing on your computer and then going back to binge-watching your favorite show.I do it all the time.For me, it’s Game of Thrones.Volunteer some hours.Focus on something outside yourself.Devote a slice of your energies towards making the world suck less every week.Some people suggest doing this will increase your sense of well-being.Some say it’s good karma.I say that it will allow you to remember that, whether you are a legacy or the first in your family to go to college, the air you are breathing right now is rare air.Appreciate it.Don’t be an asshole.Lesson number three.So you’re out there, and you’re giving back and you’re doing, and it’s working.And life is good.You are making it.You’re a success.And it’s exciting and it’s great.At least it is for me.I love my life.I have three TV shows at work and I have three daughters at home.And it’s all amazing, and I am truly happy.And people are constantly asking me, how do you do it?
And usually, they have this sort of admiring and amazed tone.Shonda, how do you do it all?
Like I’m full of magical magic and special wisdom-ness or something.How do you do it all?
And I usually just smile and say like, “I’m really organized.” Or if I’m feeling slightly kindly, I say, “I have a lot of help.”
And those things are true.But they also are not true.And this is the thing that I really want to say.To all of you.Not just to the women out there.Although this will matter to you women a great deal as you enter the work force and try to figure out how to juggle work and family.But it will also matter to the men, who I think increasingly are also trying to figure out how to juggle work and family.And frankly, if you aren’t trying to figure it out, men of Dartmouth, you should be.Fatherhood is being redefined at a lightning-fast rate.You do not want to be a dinosaur.So women and men of Dartmouth: As you try to figure out the impossible task of juggling work and family and you hear over and over and over again that you just need a lot of help or you just need to be organized or you just need to try just a little bit harder...as a very successful woman, a single mother of three, who constantly gets asked the question “How do you do it all?” For once I am going to answer that question with 100 percent honesty here for you now.Because it’s just us.Because it’s our fireside chat.Because somebody has to tell you the truth.Shonda, how do you do it all?
The answer is this: I don’t.Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life.If I am killing it on a Scandal script for work, I am probably missing bath and story time at home.If I am at home sewing my kids’ Halloween costumes, I’m probably blowing off a rewrite I was supposed to turn in.If I am accepting a prestigious award, I am missing my baby’s first swim lesson.If I am at my daughter’s debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh’s last scene ever being filmed at Grey’s Anatomy.If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitably failing at the other.That is the tradeoff.That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother.You never feel a hundred percent OK;you never get your sea legs;you are always a little nauseous.Something is always lost.Something is always missing.And yet.I want my daughters to see me and know me as a woman who works.I want that example set for them.I like how proud they are when they come to my offices and know that they come to Shondaland.There is a land and it is named after their mother.In their world, mothers run companies.In their world, mothers own Thursday nights.In their world, mothers work.And I am a better mother for it.The woman I am because I get to run Shondaland, because I get write all day, because I get to spend my days making things up, that woman is a better person—and a better mother.Because that woman is happy.That woman is fulfilled.That woman is whole.I wouldn’t want them to know the me who didn’t get to do this all day long.I wouldn’t want them to know the me who wasn’t doing.Lesson Number Three is that anyone who tells you they are doing it all perfectly is a liar.OK.I fear I’ve scared you or been a little bit bleak, and that was not my intention.It is my hope that you run out of here, excited, leaning forward, into the wind, ready to take the world by storm.That would be so very fabulous.For you to do what everyone expects of you.For you to just go be exactly the picture of hardcore Dartmouth awesome.My point, I think, is that it is OK if you don’t.My point is that it can be scary to graduate.That you can lie on the hardwood floor of your dorm room and cry while your mom packs up your stuff.That you can have an impossible dream to be Toni Morrison that you have to let go of.That every day you can feel like you might be failing at work or at your home life.That the real world is hard.And yet, you can still wake up every single morning and go, “I have three amazing kids and I have created work I am proud of, and I absolutely love my life and I would not trade it for anyone else’s life ever.”
You can still wake up one day and find yourself living a life you never even imagined dreaming of.My dreams did not come true.But I worked really hard.And I ended up building an empire out of my imagination.So my dreams? Can suck it.You can wake up one day and find that you are interesting and powerful and engaged.You can wake up one day and find that you are a doer.You can be sitting right where you are now.Looking up at me.Probably—hopefully, I pray for you—hung over.And then 20 years from now, you can wake up and find yourself in the Hanover Inn full of fear and terror because you are going to give the Commencement speech.Dry mouth.Heart beats so, so fast.Everything in slow motion.Pass out, die, poop.Which one of you will it be? Which member of the 2014 class is going to find themselves standing up here? Because I checked and it is pretty rare for an alum to speak here.It’s pretty much just me and Robert Frost and Mr.Rogers, which is crazy awesome.Which one of you is going to make it up here? I really hope that it’s one of you.Seriously.When it happens, you’ll know what this feels like.Dry mouth.Heart beats so, so fast.Everything moves in slow motion.Graduates, every single one of you, be proud of your accomplishments.Make good on your diplomas.You are no longer students.You are no longer works in progress.You are now citizens of the real world.You have a responsibility to become a person worthy of joining and contributing to society.Because who you are today...that’s who you are.So be brave.Be amazing.Be worthy.And every single time you get a chance?
Stand up in front of people.Let them see you.Speak.Be heard.Go ahead and have the dry mouth.Let your heart beat so, so fast.Watch everything move in slow motion.So what?
You what?
You pass out, you die, you poop? No.And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know...You take it in.You breathe this rare air.You feel alive.You be yourself.You truly finally always be yourself.Thank you.Good luck.
第二篇：美国著名脱口秀主持人柯南在达特茅斯演讲
美国著名脱口秀主持人柯南•奥布莱恩为2011年达特茅斯学院做了毕业致辞。前半部分有很多搞笑串场，后半部分柯南跟大家分享了自己的经历和人生经验：正是那些既定想法的失败，才使我们成为独一无二的人！以下是演讲全文：
I've been living in Los Angeles for two years, and I've never been this cold in my life.I will pay anyone here $300 for GORE-TEX gloves.Anybody.I'm serious.I have the cash.Before I begin, I must point out that behind me sits a highly admired President of the United States and decorated war hero while I, a cable television talk show host, has been chosen to stand here and impart wisdom.I pray I never witness a more damning example of what is wrong with America today.Graduates, faculty, parents, relatives, undergraduates, and old people that just come to these things: Good morning and congratulations to the Dartmouth Class of 2011.Today, you have achieved something special, something only 92 percent of Americans your age will ever know: a college diploma.That’s right, with your college diploma you now have a crushing advantage over 8 percent of the workforce.I'm talking about dropout losers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg.Incidentally, speaking of Mr.Zuckerberg, only at Harvard would someone have to invent a massive social network just to talk with someone in the next room.My first job as your commencement speaker is to illustrate that life is not fair.For example, you have worked tirelessly for four years to earn the diploma you’ll be receiving this weekend.That was great.And Dartmouth is giving me the same degree for interviewing the fourth lead in Twilight.Deal with it.Another example that life is not fair: if it does rain, the powerful rich people on stage get the tent.Deal with it.I would like to thank President Kim for inviting me here today.After my phone call with President Kim, I decided to find out a little bit about the man.He goes by President Kim and Dr.Kim.To his friends, he's Jim Kim, J to the K, Special K, JK Rowling, the Just Kidding Kimster, and most puzzling, “Stinky Pete.” He served as the chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, spearheaded a task force for the World Health Organization on Global Health Initiatives, won a MacArthur Genius Grant, and was one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2006.Good God, man, what the hell are you compensating for? Seriously.We get it.You're smart.By the way Dr.Kim, you were brought to Dartmouth to lead, and as a world-class anthropologist, you were also hired to figure out why each of these graduating students ran around a bonfire 111 times.But I thank you for inviting me here, Stinky Pete, and it is an honor.Though some of you may see me as a celebrity, you should know that I once sat where you sit.Literally.Late last night I snuck out here and sat in every seat.I did it to prove a point: I am not bright and I have a lot of free time.But this is a wonderful occasion and it is great to be here in New Hampshire, where I am getting an honorary degree and all the legal fireworks I can fit in the trunk of my car.You know, New Hampshire is such a special place.When I arrived I took a deep breath of this crisp New England air and thought, “Wow, I'm in the state that's next to the state where Ben and Jerry's ice cream is made.” But don't get me wrong, I take my task today very seriously.When I got the call two months ago to be your speaker, I decided to prepare with the same intensity many of you have devoted to an important term paper.So late last night, I began.I drank two cans of Red Bull, snorted some Adderall, played a few hours of Call of Duty, and then opened my browser.I think Wikipedia put it best when they said “Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League University in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States.” Thank you and good luck.To communicate with you students today, I have gone to great lengths to become well-versed in your unique linguistic patterns.In fact, just this morning I left Baker Berry with my tripee Barry to eat a Billy Bob at the Bema when my flitz to Francesca was Blitz jacked by some d-bag on his FSP.Yes, I've done my research.This college was named after the Second Earl of Dartmouth, a good friend of the Third Earl of UC Santa Cruz and the Duke of the Barbizon School of Beauty.Your school motto is “Vox clamantis in deserto,” which means “Voice crying out in the wilderness.” This is easily the most pathetic school motto I have ever heard.Apparently, it narrowly beat out “Silently Weeping in Thick Shrub” and “Whimpering in Moist Leaves without Pants.” Your school color is green, and this color was chosen by Frederick Mather in 1867 because, and this is true—I looked it up—“it was the only color that had not been taken already.” I cannot remember hearing anything so sad.Dartmouth, you have an inferiority complex, and you should not.You have graduated more great fictitious Americans than any other college.Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy.Pete Campbell from Mad Men.Michael Corleone from The Godfather.In fact, I look forward to next years' Valedictory Address by your esteemed classmate, Count Chocula.Of course, your greatest fictitious graduate is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.Man, can you imagine if a real Treasury Secretary made those kinds of decisions? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Now I know what you're going to say, Dartmouth, you're going to say, well “We've got Dr.Seuss.” Well guess what, we're all tired of hearing about Dr.Seuss.Face it: The man rhymed fafloozle with saznoozle.In the literary community, that's called cheating.Your insecurity is so great, Dartmouth, that you don't even think you deserve a real podium.I'm sorry.What the hell is this thing? It looks like you stole it from the set of Survivor: Nova Scotia.Seriously, it looks like something a bear would use at an AA meeting.No, Dartmouth, you must stand tall.Raise your heads high and feel proud.Because if Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are your self-involved, vain, name-dropping older brothers, you are the cool, sexually confident, lacrosse playing younger sibling who knows how to throw a party and looks good in a down vest.Brown, of course, is your lesbian sister who never leaves her room.And Penn, Columbia, and Cornell—well, frankly, who gives a shit.Yes, I've always had a special bond with this school.In fact, this is my second time coming here.When I was 17 years old and touring colleges, way back in the fall of 1980, I came to Dartmouth.Dartmouth was a very different place back then.I made the trip up from Boston on a mule and, after asking the blacksmith in West Leb for directions, I came to this beautiful campus.No dormitories had been built yet, so I stayed with a family of fur traders in White River Junction.It snowed heavily during my visit and I was trapped here for four months.I was forced to eat the mule, who a week earlier had been forced to eat the fur traders.Still, I loved Dartmouth and I vowed to return.But fate dealt a heavy blow.With no money, I was forced to enroll in a small, local commuter school, a pulsating sore on a muddy elbow of the Charles River.I was a miserable wretch, and to this day I cannot help but wonder: What if I had gone to Dartmouth? If I had gone to Dartmouth, I might have spent at least some of my college years outside and today I might not be allergic to all plant life, as well as most types of rock.If I had gone to Dartmouth, right now I'd be wearing a fleece thong instead of a lace thong.If I had gone to Dartmouth, I still wouldn't know the second verse to “Dear Old Dartmouth.” Face it, none of you do.You all mumble that part.If I had gone to Dartmouth, I'd have a liver the size and consistency of a bean bag chair.Finally, if I had gone to Dartmouth, today I'd be getting an honorary degree at Harvard.Imagine how awesome that would be.You are a great school, and you deserve a historic commencement address.That's right, I want my message today to be forever remembered because it changed the world.To do this, I must suggest groundbreaking policy.Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in 1946.JFK outlined his nuclear disarmament policy at American University in 1963.Today, I would like to set forth my own policy here at Dartmouth: I call it “The Conan Doctrine.” Under “The Conan Doctrine”:
-All bachelor degrees will be upgraded to master's degrees.All master's degrees will be upgraded to PhDs.And all MBA students will be immediately transferred to a white collar prison.-Under “The Conan Doctrine,” Winter Carnival will become Winter Carnivale and be moved to Rio.Clothing will be optional, all expenses paid by the Alumni Association.-Your nickname, the Big Green, will be changed to something more kick-ass like “The Jade Blade,” the “Seafoam Avenger,” or simply “Lime-Zilla.”
-The D-Plan and “quarter system” will finally be updated to “the one sixty-fourth system.” Semesters will last three days.Students will be encouraged to take 48 semesters off.They must, however, be on campus during their Sophomore 4th of July.-Under “The Conan Doctrine,” I will re-instate Tubestock.And I will punish those who tried to replace it with Fieldstock.Rafting and beer are a much better combination than a field and a beer.I happen to know that in two years, they were going to downgrade Fieldstock to Deskstock, seven hours of fun sitting quietly at your desk.Don't let those bastards do it.And finally, under “The Conan Doctrine,” all commencement speakers who shamelessly pander with cheap, inside references designed to get childish applause, will be forced to apologize—to the greatest graduating class in the history of the world.Dartmouth class of 2011 rules!
Besides policy, another hallmark of great commencement speeches is deep, profound advice like “reach for the stars.” Well today, I am not going to waste your time with empty clichés.Instead, I am going to give you real, practical advice that you will need to know if you are going to survive the next few years.-First, adult acne lasts longer than you think.I almost cancelled two days ago because I had a zit on my eye.-Guys, this is important: You cannot iron a shirt while wearing it.-Here's another one.If you live on Ramen Noodles for too long, you lose all feelings in your hands and your stool becomes a white gel.-And finally, wearing colorful Converse high-tops beneath your graduation robe is a great way to tell your classmates that this is just the first of many horrible decisions you plan to make with the rest of your life.Of course there are many parents here and I have real advice for them as well.Parents, you should write this down:
-Many of your children you haven't seen them in four years.Well, now you are about to see them every day when they come out of the basement to tell you the wi-fi isn't working.-If your child majored in fine arts or philosophy, you have good reason to be worried.The only place where they are now really qualified to get a job is ancient Greece.Good luck with that degree.-The traffic today on East Wheelock is going to be murder, so once they start handing out diplomas, you should slip out in the middle of the K's.And, I have to tell you this:
-You will spend more money framing your child's diploma than they will earn in the next six months.It's tough out there, so be patient.The only people hiring right now are Panera Bread and Mexican drug cartels.Yes, you parents must be patient because it is indeed a grim job market out there.And one of the reasons it's so tough finding work is that aging baby boomers refuse to leave their jobs.Trust me on this.Even when they promise you for five years that they are going to leave—and say it on television—I mean you can go on YouTube right now and watch the guy do it, there is no guarantee they won't come back.Of course I'm speaking generally.But enough.This is not a time for grim prognostications or negativity.No, I came here today because, believe it or not, I actually do have something real to tell you.Eleven years ago I gave an address to a graduating class at Harvard.I have not spoken at a graduation since because I thought I had nothing left to say.But then 2010 came.And now I'm here, three thousand miles from my home, because I learned a hard but profound lesson last year and I'd like to share it with you.In 2000, I told graduates “Don't be afraid to fail.” Well now I'm here to tell you that, though you should not fear failure, you should do your very best to avoid it.Nietzsche famously said “Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” But what he failed to stress is that it almost kills you.Disappointment stings and, for driven, successful people like yourselves it is disorienting.What Nietzsche should have said is “Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you watch a lot of Cartoon Network and drink mid-price Chardonnay at 11 in the morning.” Now, by definition, Commencement speakers at an Ivy League college are considered successful.But a little over a year ago, I experienced a profound and very public disappointment.I did not get what I wanted, and I left a system that had nurtured and helped define me for the better part of 17 years.I went from being in the center of the grid to not only off the grid, but underneath the coffee table that the grid sits on, lost in the shag carpeting that is underneath the coffee table supporting the grid.It was the making of a career disaster, and a terrible analogy.But then something spectacular happened.Fogbound, with no compass, and adrift, I started trying things.I grew a strange, cinnamon beard.I dove into the world of social media.I started tweeting my comedy.I threw together a national tour.I played the guitar.I did stand-up, wore a skin-tight blue leather suit, recorded an album, made a documentary, and frightened my friends and family.Ultimately, I abandoned all preconceived perceptions of my career path and stature and took a job on basic cable with a network most famous for showing reruns, along with sitcoms created by a tall, black man who dresses like an old, black woman.I did a lot of silly, unconventional, spontaneous and seemingly irrational things and guess what: with the exception of the blue leather suit, it was the most satisfying and fascinating year of my professional life.To this day I still don't understand exactly what happened, but I have never had more fun, been more challenged—and this is important—had more conviction about what I was doing.How could this be true? Well, it's simple: There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.I went to college with many people who prided themselves on knowing exactly who they were and exactly where they were going.At Harvard, five different guys in my class told me that they would one day be President of the United States.Four of them were later killed in motel shoot-outs.The other one briefly hosted Blues Clues, before dying senselessly in yet another motel shoot-out.Your path at 22 will not necessarily be your path at 32 or 42.One's dream is constantly evolving, rising and falling, changing course.This happens in every job, but because I have worked in comedy for twenty-five years, I can probably speak best about my own profession.Way back in the 1940s there was a very, very funny man named Jack Benny.He was a giant star, easily one of the greatest comedians of his generation.And a
much younger man named Johnny Carson wanted very much to be Jack Benny.In some ways he was, but in many ways he wasn't.He emulated Jack Benny, but his own quirks and mannerisms, along with a changing medium, pulled him in a different direction.And yet his failure to completely become his hero made him the funniest person of his generation.David Letterman wanted to be Johnny Carson, and was not, and as a result my generation of comedians wanted to be David Letterman.And none of us are.My peers and I have all missed that mark in a thousand different ways.But the point is this : It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.So, at the age of 47, after 25 years of obsessively pursuing my dream, that dream changed.For decades, in show business, the ultimate goal of every comedian was to host The Tonight Show.It was the Holy Grail, and like many people I thought that achieving that goal would define me as successful.But that is not true.No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you.In 2000—in 2000—I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that.But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come.The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.Many of you here today are getting your diploma at this Ivy League school because you have committed yourself to a dream and worked hard to achieve it.And there is no greater cliché in a commencement address than “follow your dream.” Well I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change.And that's okay.Four years ago, many of you had a specific vision of what your college experience was going to be and who you were going to become.And I bet, today, most of you would admit that your time here was very different from what you imagined.Your roommates changed, your major changed, for some of you your sexual orientation changed.I bet some of you have changed your sexual orientation since I began this speech.I know I have.But through the good and especially the bad, the person you are now is someone you could never have conjured in the fall of 2007.I have told you many things today, most of it foolish but some of it true.I'd like to end my address by breaking a taboo and quoting myself from 17 months ago.At the end of my final program with NBC, just before signing off, I said “Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” Today, receiving this honor and speaking to the Dartmouth Class of 2011 from behind a tree-trunk, I have never believed that more.Thank you very much, and congratulations.
第三篇：柯南·奥布莱恩达特茅斯学院2011毕业演讲英文全文
I've been living in Los Angeles for two years, and I've never been this cold in my life.I will pay anyone here $300 for GORE-TEX gloves.Anybody.I'm serious.I have the cash.Before I begin, I must point out that behind me sits a highly admired President of the United States and decorated war hero while I, a cable television talk show host, has been chosen to stand here and impart wisdom.I pray I never witness a more damning example of what is wrong with America today.Graduates, faculty, parents, relatives, undergraduates, and old people that just come to these things: Good morning and congratulations to the Dartmouth Class of 2011.Today, you have achieved something special, something only 92 percent of Americans your age will ever know: a college diploma.That’s right, with your college diploma you now have a crushing advantage over 8 percent of the workforce.I'm talking about dropout losers like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg.Incidentally, speaking of Mr.Zuckerberg, only at Harvard would someone have to invent a massive social network just to talk with someone in the next room.My first job as your commencement speaker is to illustrate that life is not fair.For example, you have worked tirelessly for four years to earn the diploma you’ll be receiving this weekend.That was great.And Dartmouth is giving me the same degree for interviewing the fourth lead in Twilight.Deal with it.Another example that life is not fair: if it does rain, the powerful rich people on stage get the tent.Deal with it.I would like to thank President Kim for inviting me here today.After my phone call with President Kim, I decided to find out a little bit about the man.He goes by President Kim and Dr.Kim.To his friends, he's Jim Kim, J to the K, Special K, JK Rowling, the Just Kidding Kimster, and most puzzling, “Stinky Pete.” He served as the chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, spearheaded a task force for the World Health Organization on Global Health Initiatives, won a MacArthur Genius Grant, and was one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2006.Good God, man, what the hell are you compensating for? Seriously.We get it.You're smart.By the way Dr.Kim, you were brought to Dartmouth to lead, and as a world-class anthropologist, you were also hired to figure out why each of these graduating students ran around a bonfire 111 times.But I thank you for inviting me here, Stinky Pete, and it is an honor.Though some of you may see me as a celebrity, you should know that I once sat where you sit.Literally.Late last night I snuck out here and sat in every seat.I did it to prove a point: I am not bright and I have a lot of free time.But this is a wonderful occasion and it is great to be here in New Hampshire, where I am getting an honorary degree and all the legal fireworks I can fit in the trunk of my car.You know, New Hampshire is such a special place.When I arrived I took a deep breath of this crisp New England air and thought, “Wow, I'm in the state that's next to the state where Ben and Jerry's ice cream is made.”
But don't get me wrong, I take my task today very seriously.When I got the call two months ago to be your speaker, I decided to prepare with the same intensity many of you have devoted to an important term paper.So late last night, I began.I drank two cans of Red Bull, snorted some Adderall, played a few hours of Call of Duty, and then opened my browser.I think Wikipedia put it best when they said “Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League University in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States.” Thank you and good luck.To communicate with you students today, I have gone to great lengths to become well-versed in your unique linguistic patterns.In fact, just this morning I left Baker Berry with my tripee Barry to eat a Billy Bob at the Bema when my flitz to Francesca was Blitz jacked by some d-bag on his FSP.Yes, I've done my research.This college was named after the Second Earl of Dartmouth, a good friend of the Third Earl of UC Santa Cruz and the Duke of the Barbizon School of Beauty.Your school motto is “Vox clamantis in deserto,” which means “Voice crying out in the wilderness.” This is easily the most pathetic school motto I have ever heard.Apparently, it narrowly beat out “Silently Weeping in Thick Shrub” and “Whimpering in Moist Leaves without Pants.” Your school color is green, and this color was chosen by Frederick Mather in 1867 because, and this is true—I looked it up—“it was the only color that had not been taken already.” I cannot remember hearing anything so sad.Dartmouth, you have an inferiority complex, and you should not.You have graduated more great fictitious Americans than any other college.Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy.Pete Campbell from Mad Men.Michael Corleone from The Godfather.In fact, I look forward to next years' Valedictory Address by your esteemed classmate, Count Chocula.Of course, your greatest fictitious graduate is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.Man, can you imagine if a real Treasury Secretary made those kinds of decisions? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.Now I know what you're going to say, Dartmouth, you're going to say, well “We've got Dr.Seuss.” Well guess what, we're all tired of hearing about Dr.Seuss.Face it: The man rhymed fafloozle with saznoozle.In the literary community, that's called cheating.Your insecurity is so great, Dartmouth, that you don't even think you deserve a real podium.I'm sorry.What the hell is this thing? It looks like you stole it from the set of Survivor: Nova Scotia.Seriously, it looks like something a bear would use at an AA meeting.No, Dartmouth, you must stand tall.Raise your heads high and feel proud.Because if Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are your self-involved, vain, name-dropping older brothers, you are the cool, sexually confident, lacrosse playing younger sibling who knows how to throw a party and looks good in a down vest.Brown, of course, is your lesbian sister who never leaves her room.And Penn, Columbia, and Cornell—well, frankly, who gives a shit.Yes, I've always had a special bond with this school.In fact, this is my second time coming here.When I was 17 years old and touring colleges, way back in the fall of 1980, I came to Dartmouth.Dartmouth was a very different place back then.I made the trip up from Boston on a mule and, after asking the blacksmith in West Leb for directions, I came to this beautiful campus.No dormitories had been built yet, so I stayed with a family of fur traders in White River Junction.It snowed heavily during my visit and I was trapped here for four months.I was forced to eat the mule, who a week earlier had been forced to eat the fur traders.Still, I loved Dartmouth and I vowed to return.But fate dealt a heavy blow.With no money, I was forced to enroll in a small, local commuter school, a pulsating sore on a muddy elbow of the Charles River.I was a miserable wretch, and to this day I cannot help but wonder: What if I had gone to Dartmouth?
If I had gone to Dartmouth, I might have spent at least some of my college years outside and today I might not be allergic to all plant life, as well as most types of rock.If I had gone to Dartmouth, right now I'd be wearing a fleece thong instead of a lace thong.If I had gone to Dartmouth, I still wouldn't know the second verse to “Dear Old Dartmouth.” Face it, none of you do.You all mumble that part.If I had gone to Dartmouth, I'd have a liver the size and consistency of a bean bag chair.Finally, if I had gone to Dartmouth, today I'd be getting an honorary degree at Harvard.Imagine how awesome that would be.You are a great school, and you deserve a historic commencement address.That's right, I want my message today to be forever remembered because it changed the world.To do this, I must suggest groundbreaking policy.Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in 1946.JFK outlined his nuclear disarmament policy at American University in 1963.Today, I would like to set forth my own policy here at Dartmouth: I call it “The Conan Doctrine.” Under “The Conan Doctrine”:
-All bachelor degrees will be upgraded to master's degrees.All master's degrees will be upgraded to PhDs.And all MBA students will be immediately transferred to a white collar prison.-Under “The Conan Doctrine,” Winter Carnival will become Winter Carnivale and be moved to Rio.Clothing will be optional, all expenses paid by the Alumni Association.-Your nickname, the Big Green, will be changed to something more kick-ass like “The Jade Blade,” the “Seafoam Avenger,” or simply “Lime-Zilla.”
-The D-Plan and “quarter system” will finally be updated to “the one sixty-fourth system.” Semesters will last three days.Students will be encouraged to take 48 semesters off.They must, however, be on campus during their Sophomore 4th of July.-Under “The Conan Doctrine,” I will re-instate Tubestock.And I will punish those who tried to replace it with Fieldstock.Rafting and beer are a much better combination than a field and a beer.I happen to know that in two years, they were going to downgrade Fieldstock to Deskstock, seven hours of fun sitting quietly at your desk.Don't let those bastards do it.And finally, under “The Conan Doctrine,” all commencement speakers who shamelessly pander with cheap, inside references designed to get childish applause, will be forced to apologize—to the greatest graduating class in the history of the world.Dartmouth class of 2011 rules!
Besides policy, another hallmark of great commencement speeches is deep, profound advice like “reach for the stars.” Well today, I am not going to waste your time with empty clichés.Instead, I am going to give you real, practical advice that you will need to know if you are going to survive the next few years.-First, adult acne lasts longer than you think.I almost cancelled two days ago because I had a zit on my eye.-Guys, this is important: You cannot iron a shirt while wearing it.-Here's another one.If you live on Ramen Noodles for too long, you lose all feelings in your hands and your stool becomes a white gel.-And finally, wearing colorful Converse high-tops beneath your graduation robe is a great way to tell your classmates that this is just the first of many horrible decisions you plan to make with the rest of your life.Of course there are many parents here and I have real advice for them as well.Parents, you should write this down:
-Many of your children you haven't seen them in four years.Well, now you are about to see them every day when they come out of the basement to tell you the wi-fi isn't working.-If your child majored in fine arts or philosophy, you have good reason to be worried.The only place where they are now really qualified to get a job is ancient Greece.Good luck with that degree.-The traffic today on East Wheelock is going to be murder, so once they start handing out diplomas, you should slip out in the middle of the K's.And, I have to tell you this:
-You will spend more money framing your child's diploma than they will earn in the next six months.It's tough out there, so be patient.The only people hiring right now are Panera Bread and Mexican drug cartels.Yes, you parents must be patient because it is indeed a grim job market out there.And one of the reasons it's so tough finding work is that aging baby boomers refuse to leave their jobs.Trust me on this.Even when they promise you for five years that they are going to leave—and say it on television—I mean you can go on YouTube right now and watch the guy do it, there is no guarantee they won't come back.Of course I'm speaking generally.But enough.This is not a time for grim prognostications or negativity.No, I came here today because, believe it or not, I actually do have something real to tell you.Eleven years ago I gave an address to a graduating class at Harvard.I have not spoken at a graduation since because I thought I had nothing left to say.But then 2010 came.And now I'm here, three thousand miles from my home, because I learned a hard but profound lesson last year and I'd like to share it with you.In 2000, I told graduates “Don't be afraid to fail.” Well now I'm here to tell you that, though you should not fear failure, you should do your very best to avoid it.Nietzsche famously said “Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” But what he failed to stress is that it almost kills you.Disappointment stings and, for driven, successful people like yourselves it is disorienting.What Nietzsche should have said is “Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you watch a lot of Cartoon Network and drink mid-price Chardonnay at 11 in the morning.”
Now, by definition, Commencement speakers at an Ivy League college are considered successful.But a little over a year ago, I experienced a profound and very public disappointment.I did not get what I wanted, and I left a system that had nurtured and helped define me for the better part of 17 years.I went from being in the center of the grid to not only off the grid, but underneath the coffee table that the grid sits on, lost in the shag carpeting that is underneath the coffee table supporting the grid.It was the making of a career disaster, and a terrible analogy.But then something spectacular happened.Fogbound, with no compass, and adrift, I started trying things.I grew a strange, cinnamon beard.I dove into the world of social media.I started tweeting my comedy.I threw together a national tour.I played the guitar.I did stand-up, wore a skin-tight blue leather suit, recorded an album, made a documentary, and frightened my friends and family.Ultimately, I abandoned all preconceived perceptions of my career path and stature and took a job on basic cable with a network most famous for showing reruns, along with sitcoms created by a tall, black man who dresses like an old, black woman.I did a lot of silly, unconventional, spontaneous and seemingly irrational things and guess what: with the exception of the blue leather suit, it was the most satisfying and fascinating year of my professional life.To this day I still don't understand exactly what happened, but I have never had more fun, been more challenged—and this is important—had more conviction about what I was doing.How could this be true? Well, it's simple: There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.I went to college with many people who prided themselves on knowing exactly who they were and exactly where they were going.At Harvard, five different guys in my class told me that they would one day be President of the United States.Four of them were later killed in motel shoot-outs.The other one briefly hosted Blues Clues, before dying senselessly in yet another motel shoot-out.Your path at 22 will not necessarily be your path at 32 or 42.One's dream is constantly evolving, rising and falling, changing course.This happens in every job, but because I have worked in comedy for twenty-five years, I can probably speak best about my own profession.Way back in the 1940s there was a very, very funny man named Jack Benny.He was a giant star, easily one of the greatest comedians of his generation.And a much younger man named Johnny Carson wanted very much to be Jack Benny.In some ways he was, but in many ways he wasn't.He emulated Jack Benny, but his own quirks and mannerisms, along with a changing medium, pulled him in a different direction.And yet his failure to completely become his hero made him the funniest person of his generation.David Letterman wanted to be Johnny Carson, and was not, and as a result my generation of comedians wanted to be David Letterman.And none of us are.My peers and I have all missed that mark in a thousand different ways.But the point is this : It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.So, at the age of 47, after 25 years of obsessively pursuing my dream, that dream changed.For decades, in show business, the ultimate goal of every comedian was to host The Tonight Show.It was the Holy Grail, and like many people I thought that achieving that goal would define me as successful.But that is not true.No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you.In 2000—in 2000—I told graduates to not be afraid to fail, and I still believe that.But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come.The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality.Many of you here today are getting your diploma at this Ivy League school because you have committed yourself to a dream and worked hard to achieve it.And there is no greater cliché in a commencement address than “follow your dream.” Well I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change.And that's okay.Four years ago, many of you had a specific vision of what your college experience was going to be and who you were going to become.And I bet, today, most of you would admit that your time here was very different from what you imagined.Your roommates changed, your major changed, for some of you your sexual orientation changed.I bet some of you have changed your sexual orientation since I began this speech.I know I have.But through the good and especially the bad, the person you are now is someone you could never have conjured in the fall of 2007.I have told you many things today, most of it foolish but some of it true.I'd like to end my address by breaking a taboo and quoting myself from 17 months ago.At the end of my final program with NBC, just before signing off, I said “Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” Today, receiving this honor and speaking to the Dartmouth Class of 2011 from behind a tree-trunk, I have never believed that more.Thank you very much, and congratulations.
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