畢業季來臨，學生即將離開校園展開人生下一章，但不少人卻對自己的未來感到相當徬徨，有人覺得自己成績好、得獎無數，踏入社會後也應該獲得同樣的回報，但其實這種觀念並不正確！美國一位高中老師，在為畢業生致詞就說，「你並不特別！(You are not special！)」他還說，「生活最甜蜜的樂趣，就在於承認自己並不特別。」
在波士頓當地高中服務的英語老師麥卡洛(David McCullough)在致詞時，非常坦白的告訴台下學生們，「你們一點都不特別！」這段長達12分鐘的致詞內容，被拍成影片po網後，吸引破百萬人點閱，引起熱烈討論。
麥卡洛在致詞時分析道，「現在全美國3.7萬所高中至少有320萬畢業生。其中有3.7萬人是學生致詞代表、3.7萬名班長、9.2名合唱團團員、34萬運動員和218萬5987雙運動鞋。」麥卡洛進一步分析說，就算你是百萬分之一的菁英人物，但依照此比例去換算，在全球近70億人口中，也有7000人跟你一樣優秀，所以你並不是最特別的。
麥卡洛表示，「若所有人都是特別的，那誰也都不特別了。如果每個人都有獎杯，獎盃就變得一點意義也沒有，美國人越來越喜歡讚美，而不是真正的成就，這對我們是不利的。」
麥卡洛的12分鐘致詞點醒不少學生，最後他也鼓勵所有學生去做任何你想做的事，不為的别的，就因為你熱愛而且相信它很重要。麥卡洛也說，「人生中最美妙的樂趣，在於了解到你並不特别。因為每個人都是特别的。」
麥卡洛老師「你並不特別」中英對照全文
David McCullough, Jr. – You Are Not Special
At Wellesley High School Commencement「你並不特別」大衛．麥卡洛老師 於威爾斯利高中畢業典禮
http://lybio.net/david-mccullough-jr-you-are-not-special-commencement/speeches/
Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful. Thank you.
翁博士、基歐博士、諾渥果斯基女士、柯倫女士、教育局官員、畢業生的家人朋友們、威爾斯利高中 2012 年畢業班的女士們、先生們，我非常榮幸也十分感激能有這個機會在這個下午對你們致詞。謝謝。
So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement.
因此，我們在這裡。畢業典禮。生命中重要的前瞻性儀式。請不要說：「那麼婚禮呢？」婚禮是片面的、而且常常效果不佳。婚禮是以新娘為中心的盛會。除了同意一連串不怎麼合理的要求外，新郎通常只能杵在那兒。沒有盛大的、讓大家盯著你瞧的隊伍行進。沒有歡送，沒有身分轉換的宣告。
And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.
你能夠想像有個讓大家看著男士們穿上燕尾服的電視節目嗎？他們的父親坐在那裡，眼眶中打轉著喜悅與懷疑的淚水。他們的兄弟們溜到角落，低聲嘀咕、語帶羨慕。在幾經極限考驗的冗長拖延後，婚禮留給男士們的，往往只剩下恍神無意識地在中場休息時溜到冰箱那兒去喝罐飲料的權利。事實上，婚姻是有其失敗率的，統計數據指出在座的各位有一半未來將會離婚。成功的機率低到讓你穩坐美聯東區爐主。連巴爾的摩金鶯隊的勝率都比婚姻來的高。
But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, (parents get that) through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.
可是畢業典禮這個儀式，卻每次都能順利圓滿。從今爾後，真的，不管你經歷生病或健康、財務困難、中年危機，還是在辛辛那提的展售會遇到長相還過得去的銷售小姐，(家長都曉得)，或許你對事物容忍度越來越低、也許遭遇到可解決的或束手無策的各種改變，不管怎樣，你都確確實實地從這所高中畢業了。你，與你的文憑合為一體，至死不渝。
No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.
然而，事情也不盡然如此。畢業典禮是生命中偉大儀式性的開端。有其自身的參與者與高度象徵性的意涵。例如，透過參加這難得的成年禮，我們在這個下午、這個場合找到了自己。一般而言，我會避免討人厭的陳腔濫調。連碰都不想碰(譯註一)。但當此刻我們處在大家公平競爭的競技場(譯註二)，這些話就顯得重要了。它透露著某些重要訊息。看看你們的典禮服裝，毫無造型、大小一致。不管是男女、高矮、會讀書或不會讀書、皮膚曬成棕褐色的舞會女王還是 X-Box 的星際刺客(譯註三)，你們每個人，注意到了沒，都穿著一模一樣的衣服。至於你的文憑，除了你的名字以外，也都長得完全相同。
All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.
You’re not special. You are not exceptional.
這一切本應如此，因為你，並不特別。
你並不特別，你並不與眾不同。
Contrary to what your U9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing 7th grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.
儘管你有座 U9 足球獎杯(譯註四)，有張閃閃發亮的七年級成績單，而且你確信世上存在著紫色肥胖恐龍，還有那位笑咪咪的羅傑斯先生(譯註五)和瘋狂的西爾維亞阿姨，儘管你的女超人屢屢從天上飛下來救你，很抱歉，你還是沒什麼特別的。
Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie.
是的，你一直養尊處優、嬌生慣養、被溺愛、被保護、被美麗的泡泡圍繞。是的，那些正忙著其他事的大人們，總是把你捧在手心、親吻你、餵養你、幫你擦嘴巴、替你擦屁股、訓練你、教導你、引導你、指導你、聆聽你、輔導你、鼓勵你、安慰你，然後再一次地鼓勵你。你曾被人輕推示好、被巧語哄騙、被熱情款待、被奉承討好，甚至被親暱喊作甜心派。
Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman. And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…
是的，你有過。而且，我們都去過你們的比賽、你們的戲劇、你們的獨奏會、你們的科學展覽。當你走進房間看到每個人臉上掛起笑容、當你隨便發一則推特文章底下就響起數百個讚聲，甚至 Townsman 上還曾刊出你的照片(譯註六)。而現在，你完成了高中學業，而且，無庸置疑地，我們全為了你而聚集在這裡，當你身為這個社區的榮耀和喜悅，身為第一位從那座宏偉新大樓走出來的學生。
But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.
但，千萬不要以為你就有什麼特別的，因為你並沒有。
The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood N’s. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools.
實證無所不在。這數據甚至連英文老師都不會忽略(譯註七)。牛頓、納提克、尼…我可以提「尼漢」嗎(譯註八)？光是這裡就有將近 2000 個高中畢業生，而且這還只是鄰近社區而已。此時此刻，整個美國有超過 320 萬個高中生從 3 萬 7 千所高中畢業。
That’s 37,000 valedictorians… that’s 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching 6,800 ‘yous’ go running by.
這也意味著，有 3 萬 7 千位畢業生代表。3 萬 7 千個學生會長(譯註九)。9 萬 2 千個和聲男高音。34 萬個體育健將。281 萬雙靴子被穿在腳上。但，為何侷限在高中範圍呢？畢竟你將離開這個地方。所以，不妨試著這樣想，即便你是萬中選一的菁英，但地球上有 68 億人口，那代表這世界上有將近 7 千個像你這樣的人。想像你站在華盛頓街，那裡正舉辦星期一馬拉松比賽，然後看著 6 千 8 百個「你」從你身旁擦身而過。
And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it.[applause] Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although the hair is quite a phenomenon.
接著，讓我們把視野再拉大一點。你所處的地球，讓我提醒你，並不是太陽系的中心。你的太陽系並不是銀河系的中心。你的銀河系也不是這宇宙的中心。事實上，太空物理學家告訴我們，宇宙並沒有所謂的中心。因此，你當然也不可能是。(大家鼓掌)。當然，唐納德．川普(美國大亨)也不會是。或許某人該告訴他這個事實。儘管他的頭髮還蠻酷炫的。
“But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfect! Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus.You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.
「但，大衛老師…」你大聲喊著，「惠特曼(美國詩人)告訴我，我就是自己的完美版本阿。艾匹克提塔斯(古希臘賢人)也說，我擁有宙斯的火花。」對此我並不反對。只是，按照這個說法，這世上便有了 68 億個完本版本，有 68 億道宙斯的火花。你看，當每個人都是特別的，便沒有人是特別的了。如果每個人都拿到獎盃，那獎盃將毫無意義。
In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole.
在近年來從不明說卻顯而易見的達爾文競爭模式中—對此我相信它源自人類對於自身渺小的恐懼與害怕死亡的某種心態—我們美國人，總是喜愛讚美大過於真實的成就，然而這種習慣是有害的。我們必須嚴肅看待這一點。我們總是樂於妥協標準、忽視事實，以為這是最快或是唯一的方式，能把某件物品(指獎杯)放在壁爐架上，與其拍照留念，對人自誇自擂，能讓我們在社會圖騰柱上取得更好的位置(譯註十)。
No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?” As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans.
我們開始不在乎如何比賽、不管輸還是贏、不管有無學習與成長、或是有沒有從中獲得樂趣，我們所關心的變成：「這件事能給我什麼好處？」這樣一來，我們只會把每一份努力變得廉價，把焦點放在興建瓜地馬拉醫療中心對鮑登大學的應用，而非瓜地馬拉人的福祉。
It’s an epidemic — and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the mid-level curriculum is called Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition – by definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not.
這種想法是具有傳染性的。連我們這間歷史悠久、全美 3 萬 7 千所高中裡最好之一的威爾斯利高中也無法倖免。在這裡，我們總是覺得好還要更好，乙等頂多應該算是丙等，中等學程其實是大學預修課程。我希望你們注意到我剛剛提到的「最好之一」這個說法。我之所以說「最好之一」，是因為這樣使我們得以自我感覺良好，使我們沉浸在這種草率分類法所帶來的喜悅中，儘管它模糊且缺乏考證。我們以為自己也是菁英之一，無論這些菁英的身分為何，然後在自我想像中的競賽裡，想像自己處於領先地位。但這句話其實沒有邏輯，照道理講，最好的只有一個，你是就是，不是就不是。
If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning. You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. Second is ice cream… just a – just an fyi. I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.
如果你在這些年裡學到了任何東西，我希望你了解教育的真義在於學習的樂趣，而非世俗的收穫。我希望你體會到索福克里斯(雅典悲劇作家)曾說過的「智慧是快樂的主要成分」這句話。第二成分是冰淇淋…純粹..僅供參考。我也希望，你能體認到你所知道的有多麼少。你所認識的有多麼少，此時此刻。不過今天只是個開端，日後的不斷學習才是關鍵。
As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages.
在你畢業的此刻，在你們即將乘風飛翔之前，我希望你們能夠基於真正熱愛並相信其重要性才去做任何事情。不要費心去理會那些連你都不相信的事物。但也不要在巴爾的摩金鶯隊的比賽中坐錯邊。不要太志得意滿、不要被物質主義的閃閃亮光給誘惑、也不要被自我美化的幻象給催眠。珍視你的長處。
And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.
閱讀，持續廣泛地閱讀。閱讀關乎於價值觀與自尊的建立，閱讀是生命的精神食糧。培養及保持道德理性，並展現良好的品格。勇敢地夢想，並付諸實行，好好思考自己的人生。盡可能去愛你周遭的每一件事物與每一個人。而且，要把握時機，時間正一分一秒地流逝。各位也要記得，凡事有開始就有結束。不管你有多麼享受今天的美好午後時光，這場畢業典禮總會落幕。
The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–quite an active verb, “pursuit” – which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots roller skate on Youtube.
充實的人生、獨特的人生、有意義的人生，是一項難得的成就。但那不會因為你是個好人就從天而降，或是你母親出面替你打點就能獲得。我們的開國元勳們，費盡心力替我們鞏固了生命、自由與對幸福的追求等種種不可剝奪的權利。相當活躍的一個動詞，「追求」。今日你才得以在瑣碎時間裡，舒服躺著看 YouTube 上鸚鵡溜冰的影片。
The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I – I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it.
第一任羅斯福總統，一位老練的騎士，提倡勤奮的人生。作家梭羅嘗試過著隱居的簡單生活，活得深刻，並品嘗生命的精髓。詩人瑪麗．奧利佛則告訴我們，划行，划行到漩渦處，且享受其搖擺。在本地，有人…我忘了是誰…(譯註：應該是他自己)，常常鼓勵莘莘學子們活在當下。這些話的重點都是一樣的：「動起來，盡力去做。」Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands. Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, ah let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life.
不要枯等靈感與熱情來敲門。起身吧，出門去，大膽冒險，勇敢探索，並好好把握。現在，在你匆匆跑去紋上「YOLO」的刺青前，讓我為你點出這個時下流行語的不合邏輯之處—其實你不能也不應該只活一次，而是要好好活在每一天的當下。
Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter. None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, ah a gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things.
與其說你只能活一次(YOLO)，不如說人生無法重來(YLOO)。不過因為YLOO沒有相同的音韻，所以我們聳聳肩，覺得那不太重要。把握今朝不應該被曲解為自我沉溺的藉口。如同讚美的本質，充實的生活也是一個結果，一項令人喜悅的副產品。當你用心在重要的事物上面時，這樣的結果往往會自動浮現。
Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly.
登上山頂，不是為了插上旗幟，而是能夠迎向挑戰，享受新鮮空氣，好好欣賞底下的美景。爬上去，所以你可以看到世界，而不是為了讓世界可以看到你。去巴黎，就好好體驗巴黎，不是把為了將它從旅遊清單上劃去，然後慶祝自己又去過一個國家。
Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion – and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.
Because everyone is.
運用自由意志、創造力與獨立思考能力，不是為了自身的滿足，而是為了他人的福祉—其他的那些 68 億人口，以及未來的下一代子孫。然後，你就會發現人類經驗中真正偉大且充滿奇趣的真理：「無私，是我們所能帶給自己最棒的事情。」生命最甜美的滋味，就在於，你我都確認到我們並不特別。因為每個人都是。
Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.
恭喜各位。祝大家好運。請為了自己，也為了大家，好好打造自己不凡的人生。
=======================================================
譯註一：not touch … with a ten-foot pole 為英文俚語，意思是不想干涉或介入。
譯註二：literal level playing field 的說法源於美式足球，原本是指地面平坦，不會有哪邊的隊員因為跑下坡或上坡得分，造成對其中一方不公平的情形。後來慢慢廣泛用於商場或職場上，指大家你我公平競爭的賽場。
譯註三：intergalactic X-Box assassin，X-Box 為微軟於 2001 年推出之一款遊戲機型，intergalactic X-Box assassin 應為裡頭某一角色。
譯註四：U9 soccer，U9 指的是 under 9 years old，意思是九歲以下之足球賽。
譯註五：Mister Rogers 為美國兒童節目主持人，總是一臉笑嘻嘻的。
譯註六：Townsman 為威爾斯利中學社區的一份刊物，也有網路版。
譯註七：甚至連英文老師都不會忽略。英文老師給人印象就是數學差嗎？好慘。
譯註八：Newton, Natick, Needham 都是附近的中學，我猜 Needham 應該跟威爾斯利中學有互相較勁的味道。
譯註九：class president 相當於學生會長，如果指班長不會只有 3 萬 7 千個。
譯註十：social totem pole 類似所謂的 social ladder，指一個人在群體裡的位階。
