【毕业特辑•校长寄语】Ryan Griffin:以嘉洋价值观为引导,走好人生每一步

Ryan Griffin
淮安市嘉洋国际学校美方校长

I want to welcome you all to the Graduation Ceremony for the Joy International High School Class of 2020!  We are so proud of our graduates, and we want to celebrate and encourage them together!

欢迎大家来参加嘉洋国际学校2020届毕业生毕业典礼,我们为我们的毕业生骄傲,我们大家在一起为他们庆祝并且给予他们鼓励。
There is a custom in graduation speeches to cast a sugar-coated version of the future in which the paths of the graduates are always going to be smooth, easy, and full of clarity. But I want to give a true encouragement from my heart, and that means casting a more realistic, truthful vision of the future.

在以往的毕业演讲中有一个习惯,毕业生们将来的道路总是顺利的并且是清晰明朗的,就像包裹了一层糖衣一样。但是我还是想发自内心地给他们最真实的鼓励,这也意味着他们的未来是更加真实和现实的。
The fact is that we are living in uncertain times. When you graduates started your senior years last fall, the world felt like a more stable and certain place. Now, as you are graduating, the world feels different. The pandemic changed our lives, and it continues to effect us and our future plans in international education. 

其实我们现在生活在一个具有太多不确定性的时代。去年秋季刚开学的时候,你们是一届毕业班的学生,那个时候我们感觉到世界是稳定的,具有确定性的。现在,当你们毕业的时候,世界不一样了。疫情改变了我们的生活,并且会持续影响着我们将来在国际教育领域的计划。
It is easy to feel frustrated about this and focus on the negative. However, I have come to see all of our difficulties in 2020 as opportunities to see the world in a a more fundamental way. See, I think that 2020 is reminding us of the fact that, deep down, we do not have as much control over our lives as we wish we did. I think the truth of human life is that the future is always uncertain. And there is an inevitable fragility and vulnerability that is at the heart of the human condition.

这很容易使得我们感到沮丧和消极。然而,我看到了2020年的所有困难就像是让我们以一个更加基本的方式去看待世界的机会。你们看,我觉得2020年实际上是在提醒我们一个事实,那就是对于我们的生活,我们其实不能够尽可能地控制它按照我们想要的去发展。我认为人类生活的本质就是未来总是具有不确定性的。并且在人类内心深处,生活着一种不可躲避的弱点。
I believe accepting this uncertainty and accepting all that is outside of our control is actually a key to finding true happiness and meaning in our lives. This is where I am optimistic. I have seen these students move forward into uncertainty and overcome obstacles, and I believe that they have the qualities they will need as they continue to walk on their paths towards the future. 

我相信,接受这些不确定性和接受这些我们掌控不了的所有事物其实就是我们找到生活中真正的快乐和生活的意义的关键。这也是我现在乐观的体现。我看到这些学生一步一步往前走,去克服这些不确定性和一些阻碍,我相信他们已经具备他们所需要的品质,他们会继续走在通往他们未来的道路。
We may not be able to control all we wish we could, but we are able to control our response to the difficulties we face. In fact, this limiting of our control allows us to focus on ourselves and the values that drive us on the inside. In this way, I am very proud of our graduates. 

我们可能没办法控制所有事情按照我们期望的去发展,但是我们可以控制我们面对困难时给出的回应。事实上,控制的局限性使得我们可以专注于我们自己和推动我们内在发展的价值观。因此,我对我们的毕业生感到骄傲。
They exemplify the core values that are at the heart of Joy International School.

他们体现了嘉洋国际学校的核心价值观:
Faith is the stepping into the future and walking forward step by step even if the larger path is unclear or confusing. 

信念即是步入未来,一步一个脚印,即便更宽广的道路是尚不清晰和令人疑惑的。
•Integrity is understanding our true self and staying true to it even though the external world may try to change or corrupt us. 

正直即理解真实的自我并忠于自我,即使外部世界试图改变我们或者腐坏我们。
•Excellence is doing the best that our abilities will allow regardless of whether or not others see us or compete with us. 

卓越即尽我们所能做到最好,不论他人是否看得到或和我们竞争。
•Love is opening the heart to all the joy and pain of life, and it allows us to be grateful for the beauty and meaning we can experience.

爱即是为我们生活中的所有欢乐和痛苦敞开心扉,使得我们对我们经历的美好和意义深表感谢。
If we have these core values, then it doesn’t matter what will happen to us. In the end, these core values will allow us to experience a life of meaning and significance.  These graduates have these seeds planted in them, and the flowers are already beginning to blossom. I would like to say a few words to each of the graduates now:

如果我们拥有这些核心价值观,那么我们发生什么都没关系。最后,这些核心价值观将使得我们体验有意义的生活。我们已经给这些毕业生播种,花儿也已经准备开始绽放。
Please give all the graduates a round of applause. We are proud of you. We love you. And we are rooting for you deeply as you step into the next phase of the journey of your lives. 

请送给我们所有的毕业生热烈的掌声。我们为你们而骄傲。我们爱你们。当你们踏入人生旅程的下一个阶段时,我们深深地为你们加油。