as a ph.d. student, i actually had three projects i wanted to work on. thank goodness my advisor said, “why don’t you work on the web for a while?” technology and especially the internet can really help you be lazy. lazy? what i mean is a group of three people can write software that then millions can use and enjoy. can three people answer the phone a million times? find the everage in the world, so you can be truly lazy!
overall, i know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. don’t give up on your dream. the world needs you all!
so here’s my final story:
on a day like today, you might feel 12)exhilarated—like you’ve just been shot out of a cannon at the circus—and even invincible. don’t ever forget that incredible feeling. but also: always remember that the moments we have with friends and family, the chances we have to do things that might make a big difference in the world, or even to make a small difference to the ones we love—all those wonderful chances that life gives us, life also takes away. it can happen fast, and a whole lot sooner than you think.
in late march 1996, soon after i had moved to stanford for grad school, my dad had difficulty breathing and drove to the hospital. two months later, he died. i was completely devastated. many years later, after a startup, after falling in love, and after so many of life’s adventures, i found myself thinking about my dad.
if my dad were alive today, the thing i think he would be most happy about is that lucy and i have a baby in the hopper. if he were here today, well, it would be one of the best days of his life.
many of us are fortunate enough to be here with family. some of us have dear friends and family to go home to. please keep them close and remember: they are what really matters in life.
thanks, mom; thanks, lucy.
and thank you, all, very much.
中文翻譯：
XX屆的同學們,首先我希望大家都站起來,向支持你們的親朋好友揮手致意!我相信你們都能在人群中找到他們,把你們的愛表現出來吧!
很久以前,1962年的寒冷9月,這座校園裡有一家史蒂文消費合作社。此合作社有一間廚房,那裡的天花板由學生志願者打掃,大概每十來年才一次吧。想像一下,畫面上有位名叫格洛里亞的女大學生,爬上了高高的梯子,努力地打掃那髒兮兮的天花板。一位名叫卡爾的寄宿生站在地上,為該情景欽佩不已。這就是他倆的初次邂逅。他倆就是我的父母親。所以我想你們會說,我就是這裡——密西根大學那個“廚房化學實驗”的直接成果。
我們家的所有成員都畢業於密西根大學:我哥哥、我媽媽和爸爸——我們全家。我的祖父在密西根州弗林特的雪佛蘭汽車工廠工作,他是裝配線上的一名工人。他曾開車把兩個孩子送到安娜堡這兒,並告訴他們:這是你們今後要上的大學。我知道現在聽起來很好笑。他的兩個孩子也的確從密西根大學畢業。這就是“美國夢”。
我想告訴大家的是,來這兒對我的意義絕對不僅僅是重回舊地。我有個關於追尋夢想的故事,或者更確切地說,這是一個找到夢想成真之路的故事。
你們知道,午夜從一個逼真的夢境中醒來是什麼感覺嗎?你們知道如果床邊沒有紙筆,而第二天一早就忘個精光又會怎樣嗎?
喔,我23歲的時候,就做過一個那樣的夢。我猛然驚醒,想著:如果我們能把整個網路下載下來,但僅保存連結會怎樣?然後我抓起一支筆寫了起來。有時候別做夢,及時醒來是非常重要的。我花了一個午夜描畫出細節,並確信那是可以做得到的。不久後,我告訴我的導師特里·溫諾格拉德,那要花幾周時間來下載整個網路——他只是會意地點點頭,他完全知道要花的時間其實長得多,但他很睿智,並沒有告訴我。年輕人的樂觀精神通常不可低估!令人驚訝的是,我當時沒有想過要造一個搜尋引擎。這一概念甚至沒有進入我腦海。但很久以後,我們突然找到更好排列網頁的方法,並造出一個非常好的搜尋引擎——谷歌就這樣誕生了。當偉大的夢想閃現時,抓住它吧!