Below are highlights from the Convocation remarks of Dr. 海伦·马修斯，韦德娱乐app下载地址学校世界语言系主任. On September 5th, 在毕业典礼上，索莱伯里学校迎来了70多名新学生来到我们的菲利普斯磨坊和学校巷.
Greetings to everyone -- returning students, faculty and staff, 但最重要的是感谢今天到场的所有索伯里新生. 开学的第一天意义重大，新学校的第一天意义重大. You’re living it right now, I don’t have to tell you.
我想给你一些建议，我总是想在第一天给新生，但通常不给. 走到别人面前开始给他们建议是很奇怪的，对吧? Today, they gave me a microphone, 所以这是我希望你们在这里读高中时做的三件事:
#1: DO NEW STUFF. 给你尝试新事物的机会是索伯里最擅长的. 我们都是来帮你找到快乐的，不管你在哪里找到快乐. Trying new things can be scary, but everyone is here for you. Never played field hockey? Here’s your stick. Never made ceramics? Sign right up. Terrible at it? That’s cool! 你来这里是为了尝试，探索，做，是的，失败，这都是它的一部分. You will regret it if you box yourself in.
While you’re here, 不要仅仅根据你擅长什么来决定你是谁——你可以做和享受这个世界所提供的一切. It’s all here for you, and you should be here for it. If you don’t stay open, 你可能会错过一些小小的兴奋感，而这些兴奋感可能会让你走向更大的成就, a career path or lifelong hobby, or even just some minor fleeting moment of enjoyment. Don’t stay on the sidelines, 或者只是安全地依偎在你知道你喜欢的角落里，你知道你能做的——跳进新的东西, find out whether you like it, and be okay with not being great at it, because we’re all excited just to share the experience with you.
#2: ASK FOR HELP. Ask whenever and wherever you need it. There’s a magical moment of the day called “Conference,” when your teachers are in their classrooms waiting to see you. Go see them! Come see me!
你不需要有问题或问题——你可以走进去说, “I liked that thing we read” or “Wow, that homework was weird” or “I had a rough day today.” Next thing you know, 你参与到一场对话中，你对课堂上所做的事情感到更舒服了，你和老师也建立了融洽的关系. 当然，寻求帮助并不仅仅是在课堂或会议期间. Reach out to your classmates, to your teachers, to the Counselor Julie, to all of the friendly faces you see around. Everyone here wants to see you happy and thriving. We’ve only just met you, 但我们都在这里支持你，我们都关心你——这就是我们在这里的原因. Which leads me to my third and final piece of advice:
#3: BE KIND TO EACH OTHER. 当我上高中的时候，人们通常对彼此并不友好. 任何不同都是“奇怪的”，有很多八卦和一些欺凌，只是普遍的仇恨和不安全的行为. 当我第一次来到索莱伯里学校教书时，我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛和耳朵. 我记得在一次聚会上，有人站起来，在一首慢歌中尽情地唱出他们走调的心, just giving it to the world. I started to get nervous, like “oh no, 有人会笑，这个可怜的人会因为分享了他们的一颗心而感到很糟糕.” And when the song ended, 观众们突然爆发出我从未听过的最热烈、最欢庆的掌声——这与技巧无关, it was about recognizing the courage.
We have the power of that moment every day, 当我们记住这一点，并选择出于爱和支持而不是出于不安全感而行动时，我们都处于最佳状态. Be here for each other. Celebrate each other, 尤其是当你看到有人在冒险，尤其是当你看到有人分享他们的心, whatever that looks like. That is the stuff of life that needs to be held up, and you have the opportunity to do that every day.
So there you have it: Do new stuff. Ask for help. Be kind to each other. It can be that simple, but it takes each and every one of you. Let’s start today.