朱子曜马兰大学毕业演讲
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
女士们先生们，下午好！
I noticed that recently there are two big things -- something happened to my hair -- two big things going on in the university of Maryland, the rain and the big final.
我观察到最近发生了两件大事——我的头发发生了一些变化——两件发生在马里兰大学的大事：连续的大雨和期末大考。
The rain drowns people. So does the final.
大雨淹没了我们的肉体，期末淹没了我们的智商。
But congratulations, everybody, you made it!
但是祝贺大家都熬过来了！
And give yourself a round of applause because you are so brilliant!
给自己一个热烈的掌声，你们真的很棒！
Our dean, faculty, staff, proud parents and above all, graduates, MS, MBAand PhD students of class 2018,
学院院长，教职员工，自豪的家长们，还有最重要的，2018届的本科毕业生，硕士，MBA和博士毕业生们，
Congratulations, this is your day!
恭喜各位，今天属于你们！
Before thanking UMD and the Smith school, I want to be honest about one thing.
在感谢马里兰大学和史密斯商学院之前，我想向大家坦白一件事情。
I usually have some random questions in my mind.
我脑子里随时都有些奇怪的想法。
A couple minutes ago, I was thinking,
几分钟前，我还在思考：
If anything is possible, if it's possible for something to be impossible.
如果一切皆有可能，有没有可能，有些可能是不可能的。
I will leave this is an assignment for tonight, just think about it.
这个问题作为今晚的作业留给大家。
But normally I don't look for answers.
我一般不寻求这些问题的答案。
But there was another question I had the first day I learned about UMD.
但我来马里兰大学之前，一直在思考另一个问题：
Why our mascot is a turtle?
为什么我们学校的吉祥物是一个乌龟？
Many universities they pick fierce and mighty animals or figures.
许多别的学校通常选择凶猛或者强壮的动物和形象：
Princeton has a tiger. University of Chicago has a phoenix. Duke has the blue devil.
普林斯顿的吉祥物是一只老虎，芝加哥大学是一只凤凰，杜克的则是著名的“蓝魔鬼”。
This question was not solved until I came to UMD and met its people here.
这个问题久久得不到答案，直到我来到了马里兰大学并且遇见了这里的人。
My first several months in Maryland was sheer nightmare.
我最初在马里兰的几个月实际上是个噩梦。
Fresh off the boat, I got no friends here.
"初来乍到"，我没有朋友。
I didn't know how to drive, so I could only lock myself in my room.
我也不会开车。很多时候只能把自己关在房间里。
I started to have a hair loss issue due to academic pressure, since I had to spend three hours to figure out the most basic concept.
渐渐地，由于学业的压力，我甚至有了脱发的烦恼。因为一个最基本的概念，我可能要花上3个小时才能弄明白。
I even thought of running a model to predict in which year I would lose my hair.
我甚至想跑一个预测模型来预测自己会在什么时候掉光所有的头发，
But ironically, I didn't know how due to my lack of experience in coding.
但讽刺的是，我连这个模型都跑不出来因为不会写代码。
Worst of all, I attached this huge label to myself, a slow learner and underachiever,
最惨的是，我开始往自己身上贴上诸如"迟钝的学习者"和"后进生"这样的标签。
just like the turtle -- slow, obscure, and definitely not the smartest.
甚至越来越觉得，自己可能就是一只乌龟——行动迟缓，默默无闻，也永远不是那个最聪明的。
It was Professor Zhang at the Smith school who helped me realize the way to success is never easy.
是我们学院的张教授帮助了我认清了成功之路的不易。
She told me that she had been there.
她告诉我她也曾经痛苦和挣扎过。
Under imaginable pressure during her PhD life in Harvard, she had to get up at 4:00 every morning.
在难以想象的压力下，她在哈佛读博士的时候，必须每天早上4点起床。
And every single day she doubted her ability, her choice, and her future.
每一天她都在怀疑自己的能力、她的选择、她的未来。
But she decided to accept the challenge and move forward step by step.
但她决定接受挑战，一步一步地向前迈进。
Nowadays, she has become the wonder woman in the field of statistics and inspires hundreds of students, just like me.
最终，她成为了统计学界的"神奇女侠"，并且激励了数以百计像我一样的学生。
Like a turtle, with a tough shell, bearing all these questions, hardship and pressure, she is still moving forward.
就像一只乌龟，有着坚硬的外壳，承受着所有的压力和苦难，坚定前进着。
Then I learned more from my classmates.
我也从从同学身上学到了很多。
Some pulled an all-nighter on a daily basis due to irrelevant academic background.
他们有的每天挑灯夜战，克服专业不相关的劣势。
Some were also taking the MBA program while pursuing a master's degree.
有的在攻读硕士学位的同时攻读MBA，
Some were already married and had mouths to feed and diapers to change.
有的已经结婚，上有老下有小。
But none of them raised the white flag easily.
但是他们没有一个轻言放弃。
Now many of them have earned excellent scores and found satisfying jobs.
现在，他们中的许多人都取得了优异的成绩，并且找到了令人满意的工作。
Congratulations.
祝贺他们！
When the chaos of life surrounds them, just like turtle, they still know their directions.
就像乌龟，当生活的混乱包围着他们时，他们仍然知道前进的方向。
This experience made me realize we're all made of
这段经历让我知道自己是什么样的人，
when push comes to the shove, when rubber meets the road and chips are down.
在紧要关头，
I realized what lies at the very core of every person in UMD,
我意识到了马里兰大学每个人的内在精髓：
that is, we are all turtles.
我们都是乌龟，
We know life is not a sprint, is not even a marathon, life is a triathlon.
我们知道人生不是一场短跑，甚至不是一场马拉松，而是一场铁人三项。
we might not be as super talented as the lucky ones but we don't belittle ourselves.
我们知道，我们可能不是幸运的超级天才，但我们不轻视自己。
we might start things slow and be constantly discouraged by setbacks,
我们也许起步较慢，并且不断被挫折打击，
but we choose do these things not because they're easy but because they're hard.
但我们做一件事情不是因为它容易，而是因为它的困难。
we might not be the first ones crossing the finish line,
我们也许不是第一个到达终点的人，
but we are surely the ones knowing where we're going and why.
但我们很清楚我们去向何处，以及其中的原因。
This is the terrapin spirit.
这就叫乌龟精神。
which could be interpreted by these three amazing letters UMD, that is U Must be Determined.
这种精神正可以由UMD三个大字诠释：你必须下定决心。
Thank you.
谢谢你们。
Terps, here we are. Standing in this brilliant turning point.
今天我们站在这里，这是个重要的转折点。
The steps you taking today might seen small, but someday you will see the big picture,
马大的同志们，你们今天获取的成就看似微不足道，但总有一天你们可以一展宏图，
as long as you're moving forward, no matter fast or slow.
只要你们坚持不懈，努力奋进，无论是快还是慢。
And please remember smith school and UMD will always be there for you.
并永远记住，马里兰大学和史密斯商学院会一直伴你前行!
Thank you.
谢谢大家。
Thank you, my professors, my friends, my family, my girlfriend, my boss.
谢谢你们，谢谢我的教授，我的挚友，我的家人，我的女朋友和我的上司。
And most importantly, my parents who have supported me for so many years.
最重要的是感谢这些年来一直支持着我的父母。
Thank you.
谢谢你们。
