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2.Barbara Pierce Bush: Commencement Address at Wellesley College

Thank you. Thank you, very much. Thank you very, very much, President

Keohane. Mrs. Gorbachev, Trustees, Faculty, Parents, and I should say,

Julia Porter, class president, and certainly my new best friend, Christine

Bicknell -- and, of course, the Class of 1990. I am really thrilled to be

here today, and very excited, as I know you all must be, that Mrs.

Gorbachev could join us.

These are exciting times. They're exciting in Washington, and I have really looked forward to coming to Wellesley. I thought it was

going to be fun. I never dreamt it would be this much fun. So, thank you for that.More than ten years ago, when I was invited here to

talk about our experiences in the People's Republic of China, I was struck by both the natural beauty of your campus and the spirit of

this place.

Wellesley, you see, is not just a place but an idea -- an experiment in excellence in which diversity is not just tolerated, but

is embraced. The essence of this spirit was captured in a moving speech about tolerance given last year by a student body president

of one of your sister colleges. She related the story by Robert Fulghum about a young pastor, finding himself in charge of some

very energetic children, hits upon a game called "Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs." "You have to decide now," the pastor instructed

the children, "which you are -- a giant, a wizard or a dwarf?" At that, a small girl tugging at his pants leg, asked, "But where

do the mermaids stand?" And the pastor tells her there are no mermaids.

And she says, "Oh yes there are. I am a mermaid."

Now this little girl knew what she was, and she was not about to give up on either her identity, or the game. She intended to take

her place wherever mermaids fit into the scheme of things. Where do the mermaids stand? All of those who are different, those who

do not fit the boxes and the pigeonholes?" "Answer that question," wrote Fulghum, "And you can build a school, a nation, or a whole

world." As that very wise young woman said, "Diversity, like anything worth having, requires effort. Effort to learn about and

respect difference, to be compassionate with one another, to cherish our own identity, and to accept unconditionally the same

in others.

You should all be very proud that this is the Wellesley spirit. Now I know your first choice today was Alice Walker -- guess how

I know! -- known for The Color Purple. Instead you got me -- known for the color of my hair!

Alice Walker's book has a special resonance here. At Wellesley, each class is known by a special color. For four years the Class of

'90 has worn the color purple. Today you meet on Severance Green to say goodbye to all of
that, to begin a new and very personal journey, to search for your own
true colors.
In the world that awaits you, beyond the shores of Lake Waban, no one can
say what your true colors will be. But this I do know: You have a first
class education from a first class school. And so you need not, probably
cannot, live a "paint-by-numbers" life. Decisions are not irrevocable.
Choices do come back. And as you set off from Wellesley, I hope that many
of you will consider making three very special choices.
The first is to believe in something larger than yourself, to get involved
in some of the big ideas of our time. I chose literacy because I honestly
believe that if more people could read, write and comprehend, we would be
that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation
and our society.
And early on I made another choice which I hope you'll make as well.
Whether you are talking about education, career, or service, you're
talking about life -- and life really must have joy. It's supposed to be
fun!
One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life, to marry
George Bush, is because he made me laugh. It's true, sometimes we've
laughed through our tears. But that shared laughter has been one of our
strongest bonds. Find the joy in life, because as Ferris Bueller said on
his day off, "Life moves pretty fast; and ya don't stop and look around
once in a while, ya gonna miss it!"
(I am not going to tell George ya clapped more for Ferris than ya clapped
for George.)
The third choice that must not be missed is to cherish your human
connections: your relationships with family and friends. For several
years, you've had impressed upon you the importance to your career of
dedication and hard work. And, of course, that's true. But as important as
your obligations as a doctor, a lawyer, a business leader will be, you are
a human being first. And those human connections --- with spouses, with
children, with friends -- are the most important investments you will ever
make.
At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more
test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will
regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.
We are in a transitional period right now, fascinating and exhilarating
times, learning to adjust to changes and the choices we, men and women,
are facing. As an example, I remember what a friend said, on hearing her
husband complain to his buddies that he had to babysit. Quickly setting
him straight, my friend told her husband that when it's your own kids,
it's not called babysitting.
Now,? maybe we should adjust faster; maybe we should adjust slower. But
whatever the era whatever the times, one thing will never change: fathers
and mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to
your children. And you must hug your children. And you must love your
children. Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not
on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house.
For over fifty years, it was said that the winner of Wellesley's annual
hoop race would be the first to get married. Now they say, the winner will
be the first to become a C.E.O. Both of those stereotypes show too little
tolerance for those who want to know where the mermaids stand. So I want
to offer a new legend: the winner of the hoop race will be the first to
realize her dream -- not society's dreams? -- her own personal dream.
And who knows? Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will
one day follow in my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the
President's spouse.
I wish him well!
Well, the controversy ends here. But our conversation is only beginning.
And a worthwhile conversation it has been. So as you leave Wellesley
today, take with you deep thanks for the courtesy and the honor you have
shared with Mrs. Gorbachev and with me. Thank you. God bless you. And may
your future be worthy of your dreams.
　