東郊名人：紮克伯格2017哈佛畢業演講！華裔妻子現場淚流滿面
島讀：馬克·紮克伯格，facebook的創始人，今年在母校哈佛大學發表了公開演講，
文章開頭是演講視頻，文末附有英文演講稿。
Faust校長，校監委員會成員們，老師、校友、朋友、自豪的家長們、管理委員會的委員們，以及全世界最偉大學校的畢業生們！
今天和你們待在一起我備感榮幸，因為說實話，你們完成了一個我永遠無法辦到的成就。等我做完這個演講，
站在這裡演講的我，曾是一名輟學生
我本不可能是站在這裡發表演講的人，不僅僅因為我是一名輟學生，還因為其實我們是同一代人。我作為學生走在這個校園裡，也就是不過十年前的事情。我們學習過同樣的知識，同樣在EC10課堂上補覺。
儘管我們通過不同的方式來到這裡，尤其那些來自Quad園區的同學（The Quad以前哈佛女性☆禁☆學院是Radcliffe College的女生宿舍）；但今天我想和你們分享的是，
首先，過去幾天令我想起很多美好的回憶。
你們當中多少人還確切記得，當初收到哈佛的錄取通知郵件時在做什麼？當時我正在玩《文明》遊戲，然後我跑下樓，找到我的父親，不過他的反應很奇怪，居然開始拍攝我打開郵件的過程。那個視頻可能看著挺難過吧。
你們還記得在哈佛上的第一節課嗎？我上的是電腦121，Harry Lewis老師超級棒。當時我要遲到了，於是抓了件T恤就套在身上，結果直到下午才發現我把它前後裡外都穿反了，商標都露在前胸。然後我還納悶怎麼沒人理我，除了一個人——KX Jin，他沒有在意這些。之後，我們開始組隊解決難題，現在他負責Facebook很大一塊業務。這說明什麼？2017的畢業生們，
我在哈佛最美好的回憶，是遇見了我的妻子
但是我在哈佛最美好的回憶，是我遇見了Priscilla（紮克伯格妻子）。當時我剛上線一個惡作劇網站Facemash，然後管理委員會表示“要見我”，所有人都認為我要被趕走了。我爸媽來幫我打包行李；我朋友幫我搞了個告別派對。
事實上，你們所有人都可以使用這個套路。
我沒有被開除——我想辦法留下來了。Priscilla開始和我約會。你們知道，那部電影（《社交網路》）說的Facemash對創造Facebook好像很重要似的。並非如此。但是沒有Facemash的話，我遇不到Priscilla。她是我生命中最重要的人，所以從這個角度說，Facemash是我人生中做出的最重要的一樣東西。
在這裡，我們開始結交一生的摯友，甚至有的以後會成為家人。這是為什麼我對這裡如此感激的原因。謝謝你，哈佛！
目標才能創造你真正的快樂
今天我想談談目標（Purpose），但是我不是來給你們做一些程式化的宣言，告訴你們如何發現目標。
我們是千禧一代，我們會出於直覺和本能發現目標。相反地，我站在這裡要說的是，僅僅發現目標還不夠。我們這代人面臨的挑戰，是創造一個人人都能有使命感的世界。
我最喜歡的一個故事，是約翰·F·甘迺迪訪問美國宇航局太空中心時，看到了一個拿著掃帚的看門人。於是他走過去問這人在幹什麼。看門人回答說：“總統先生，我正在幫助把一個人送往月球。”
目標是我們意識到我們是比自己更大的東西的一部分，是我們被需要的、我們需要更為之努力的東西。目標能創造真正的快樂。
當我走過很多地方的時候，我曾和許多被拘留的、阿片類藥物成癮的孩子們坐在一起，他們告訴我如果他們有事可做，參加課後活動或者有地方可去，他們的人生會變得很不一樣。我也遇到過很多工廠的工人，他們沒法再從事之前從事的工作了，所以試圖找到新的能做的事。
為了保持社會的進步，我們身負挑戰——不僅僅是創造新的工作，還要創造新的目標。
我還記得在Kirkland House的小宿舍中創造Facebook的那晚。我和我的朋友KX去了Noch。我記得我告訴他，我很開心能把哈佛的社群連接起來，但是有一天，有人會把整個世界都連接起來。
我完全沒有想到這個人會是我們。當時我們還只是大學生，對此還並不瞭解。所有這些大型技術公司都有資源，我只是認為其中一個大公司會做到這一點。但是，我對這個想法很確信——所有人都想和彼此連接，所以我們一直在朝這個方向努力前進。
我知道你們中的很多人也會有類似的故事。你覺得很多人都在改變世界，然而他們並沒有，而你會。
但是，光有目標是不夠的。你必須擁有心系他人的目標。
意識到這點非常難。我從來沒想過創造一個公司，我想要的是創造影響力，越來越多的人加入我們，我假設他們跟我關心的是同樣的東西，所以我從來沒解釋過我到底希望建立什麼。
沒有更高遠的使命感，不可能夢想成真
幾年來，一些大公司想要收購我們。我拒絕了。我想知道是否能連接更多的人。我們正在建立第一個新聞流（News Feed），當時我想，如果我們能做到這一點，它可能會改變我們學習世界的方式。
幾乎所有人都想讓我把公司賣了。沒有更高遠的使命感，這個創業公司不可能夢想成真。經過激烈的爭論後，一位顧問跟我說，如果我不同意出售，我會後悔一輩子。一年左右的時間裡，當時的管理層幾乎都走了。
這是我在Facebook時最艱難的時刻。我相信我們在做的東西，但是我也感到孤獨。更糟糕的是，當時我覺得這是我的錯。我在想是不是我錯了，一個22歲的小孩，都不知道世界是怎麼運轉的。
多年以後的今天，我明白了，那是因為沒有更高的目標。由我們來創造它，這樣我們就能一起前進。
沒有人從一開始就知道，如何變得偉大
我們這一代將不得不面對數千萬的工作被機器取代的情況，比如自動駕駛。但我們還有很多事能一起去完成。
每一代都有屬於自己一代的作品。比如有超過30萬人一起努力，讓人類登上了月球——包括那個看門的人；數百萬志願者為世界各地的小兒麻痹症患者打疫苗；數以百萬計的人為建立胡佛水壩和其他偉大的項目貢獻了自己的力量。
做這些項目的使命，並不僅僅是為人們提供工作，而是讓我們整個國家感到自豪，我們可以做一些偉大的事情。
現在輪到我們來做一些偉大的事了。我知道，你可能會想：我不知道如何建造大壩，或者如何讓一百萬人參與到任何事情中來。
但我想告訴你一個秘密：沒有人從一開始就知道如何做，想法並不會在最初就完全成型。只有當你工作時才變得逐漸清晰，你只需要做的，就是開始。
如果我必須在開始（Facebook）之前就瞭解清楚“如何連接人”的想法，那麼我就不會啟動Facebook了。
理想主義是好事，但你要做好被誤解的準備
或許電影和流行文化會讓人覺得被誤導，那些想法會出現在一些靈光一閃的時刻，這其實是一個危險的謊言。這讓我們感到不滿足，因為我們沒有了我們自己的（行動），它會阻止那些擁有好想法的人去開始。
對了，你知道電影當中還有什麼是對創新的誤解嗎？那就是，沒有人會在玻璃上寫數學公式。那不是什麼事。
其實，理想主義是好事，但你要做好被誤解的準備：
任何為了更大願景工作的人，可能會被稱為瘋子，即使你最終獲得成功。
任何為了複雜問題工作的人，都會因為不能全面瞭解挑戰而被指責，即使你不可能事先瞭解一切。
任何抓住主動權先行一步的人，都會因為步子太快而受到批評，因為總是有人想讓你慢下來。
在我們的社會裡，我們並不經常做一些偉大的事，因為我們害怕犯錯。如果我們什麼都不做，我們就忽視了今天所有的錯誤。事實上，我們所做的任何事情將來都會有問題，但這不能阻止我們開始。
還有很多問題，我們這一代可以去解決
在地球摧毀之前，如何阻止氣候變化？如何讓數百萬人願意參與制造和安裝太陽能電池板？
如何治癒所有疾病？如何要求志願者跟蹤他們的健康資料和分享他們的基因組？
今天，我們可能要花上50倍的價格去治療病人，而不是找到一種治療方法讓人類第一時間無法染上疾病。這並不合理，我們可以解決這個問題。
這些成就，在我們能力範圍內是可以實現的，讓我們讓每個人在我們社會中發揮其應有的作用來做這些事情。
讓我們做一些偉大的事情，不僅要創造進步，而是要創造purpose。
所以我們可以做的第一件事就是，創造一個每人都擁有使命感的世界。
追求目標的自由，從來都不是免費的
Facebook並不是我做的第一件事，我還做過遊戲、聊天系統、學習工具和音樂播放機。我並不孤獨， 因為JK羅琳在出版《哈利波特》之前被拒絕了12次，即使碧昂絲也不得不寫了數百首歌曲，才有了今天Halo這首歌獲得的光環。最大的成功來自於我們享有失敗的自由。
然而，今天，財富不均會讓每個人都受到傷害。當你沒有自由把你的想法變成一個歷史性的企業的時候，我們就輸了。現在，我們的社會在通往成功的路上有過多的指引，但我們做得不夠，並不是每個人都能夠輕易得分（獲得成功）。
面對現實吧，我們的社會體系是有問題的，當我能夠離開哈佛並在10年內賺取數十億美元的時候，還有數百萬學生無法償還貸款，更不用說開始創業。
我認識很多企業家，然而我並不知道是否有一個人是因為沒有足夠的錢而放棄創業。但是我知道很多人不敢追求夢想，因為一旦他們失敗，並沒有很好的緩衝物降低失敗的風險。
我們都知道，想要成功，光憑一個好想法，或者一個好的工作態度，是遠遠不夠的。幸運，也是成功很重要的因素。如果當初，我無法花時間編寫代碼，而是必須勤工儉學補貼家用，如果我無法承受“萬一Facebook不能成功”這一假設，我今天都不會站在這裡。誠實地想一想，我們都知道，（能夠有今天）自己是多麼的幸運。
是的，賦予每個人追求目標的自由，這並不是免費的。像我這樣的人應當為此付費。在你們之中，許多人都會做得很好，當然，你們也有義務去做好。
這也是為什麼當初 Priscilla 和我啟動了Chan Zuckerberg Initiative（小紮和妻子成立的基金會，希望消除人類的疾病，建設一個強大的社區，為此捐出了自己持有的 99% Facebook 股份，大約 450 億美元），並承諾要我們的財富去促進機會平等。這些是我們這代人的價值。
“要不要這樣做”從來都不是問題，唯一的問題是“什麼時候去做”。
花一點時間，去幫助其他人
千禧一代已經是歷史上最慈善的一代人之一了。千禧一代的美國人在一年中，平均四個人裡就有三個人會捐款，平均十個人裡就有七個人會為慈善募捐。
但這也不僅限於金錢。你也可以奉獻你的時間。我在這裡向你保證，如果你可以每一兩周要花一個小時（去奉獻和幫助），就會有一個人因此獲得幫助，甚至實現他們以前不可能實現的目標。
或許你覺得這太花時間了。我曾經也這麼認為。當Priscilla畢業於哈佛後，她成了一名老師，在她和我一起投身教育行業之前，她告訴我，我需要去教授一門課。我抱怨道：“好吧，可是我很忙啊，我得經營Facebook啊。”但是她堅持讓我去教課，所以我就在當地的男童女童俱樂部教授了一門關於創業精神的中學課程。
五年來，我每個月都會和這些孩子一起共進一次晚餐。其中有一個孩子，為我與Priscilla的第一個寶寶在出生前，舉辦了寶寶洗禮派對。明年，這些孩子們都要上大學了，是的，他們每一個都要上大學了，而且他們都將驕傲地成為自己家族裡第一名大學生。
花一點時間，去幫助其他人，這是我們每個人都可以做到的。讓我們通過此舉，讓每個人都有實現人生目標的自由——不僅因為這樣做是正確的，更是因為當人們可以把夢想變為偉大的現實時，我們每個人都會變得更好。
全球性的改變，也是源自微小的事物
在最近一項調查中，世界各地的80後90後被要求選擇自己認同的身份，最流行的答案不是國籍，宗教或種族，它是“世界公民”。
這是一個標誌性的事件。
我遇到了今天畢業的Agnes Igoye，（對著現場說，你在哪裡，Agnes？）她在烏干達的衝突地區度過童年時期，現在她在訓練數以千計的執法人員來保持社區的安全。
我遇到Kayla和Niha，也是今天畢業，他們發起了一個非營利組織，將患有疾病的人與社區內願意幫助他們的人聯繫起來。
我遇到了David Razu Aznar，今天從甘迺迪政治學院畢業（對著現場說，David站起來）。他是前墨西哥市的議員，他成功領導了一場運動，使墨西哥城成為第一個通過婚姻平等法案的拉丁美洲城市，甚至比三藩市還早。
這也是我自己的故事，一個宅在宿舍的學生，一次連接了一個社群，然後始終維護它，直到有一天我們連接了整個世界。
改變源於身邊。甚至全球性的改變，也是源自微小的事物——和我們一樣的人。
在你們最後一次走出這些校門之前，當我們坐在這紀念教堂前的時候，我想起了一段祈禱，Mi Shebeirach，每當我面對挑戰時我都會說的，每當我把女兒放進嬰兒床裡想像著她的未來都會唱到的：
願力量之源，在我們面前祝福那些人，幫助我們找到勇氣，使我們的生活成為一件幸事。（"May the source of strength, who blessed the ones before us, help us *find the courage* to make our lives a blessing."）
我希望你們也可以找到屬於自己的勇氣，使你們的生命擁有美好的祝福。
祝賀2017級的畢業生們，祝你們好運。
英文原文
President Faust, Board of Overseers, faculty, alumni, friends, proud parents, members of the ad board, and graduates of the greatest university in the world,
I'm honored to be with you today because, let's face it, you accomplished something I never could. If I get through this speech, it'll be the first time I actually finish something at Harvard. Class of 2017, congratulations!
I'm an unlikely speaker, not just because I dropped out, but because we're technically in the same generation. We walked this yard less than a decade apart, studied the same ideas and slept through the same Ec10 lectures. We may have taken different paths to get here, especially if you came all the way from the Quad, but today I want to share what I've learned about our generation and the world we're building together.
But first, the last couple of days have brought back a lot of good memories.How many of you remember exactly what you were doing when you got that email telling you that you got into Harvard? I was playing Civilization and I ran downstairs, got my dad, and for some reason, his reaction was to video me opening the email. That could have been a really sad video. I swear getting into Harvard is still the thing my parents are most proud of me for.
What about your first lecture at Harvard? Mine was Computer Science 121 with the incredible Harry Lewis. I was late so I threw on a t-shirt and didn't realize until afterwards it was inside out and backwards with my tag sticking out the front. I couldn't figure out why no one would talk to me -- except one guy, KX Jin, he just went with it. We ended up doing our problem sets together, and now he runs a big part of Facebook. And that, Class of 2017, is why you should be nice to people.
But my best memory from Harvard was meeting Priscilla. I had just launched this prank website Facemash, and the ad board wanted to "see me". Everyone thought I was going to get kicked out. My parents came to help me pack. My friends threw me a going away party. As luck would have it, Priscilla was at that party with her friend. We met in line for the bathroom in the Pfoho Belltower, and in what must be one of the all time romantic lines, I said: "I'm going to get kicked out in three days, so we need to go on a date quickly."
Actually, any of you graduating can use that line.I didn't end up getting kicked out -- I did that to myself. Priscilla and I started dating. And, you know, that movie made it seem like Facemash was so important to creating Facebook. It wasn't. But without Facemash I wouldn't have met Priscilla, and she's the most important person in my life, so you could say it was the most important thing I built in my time here.
We've all started lifelong friendships here, and some of us even families. That's why I'm so grateful to this place.Thanks, Harvard.
Today I want to talk about purpose. But I'm not here to give you the standard commencement about finding your purpose. We're millennials. We'll try to do that instinctively. Instead, I'm here to tell you finding your purpose isn't enough. The challenge for our generation is creating a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
One of my favorite stories is when John F Kennedy visited the NASA space center, he saw a janitor carrying a broom and he walked over and asked what he was doing. The janitor responded: "Mr. President, I'm helping put a man on the moon".
Purpos e is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is what creates true happiness.
You're graduating at a time when this is especially important. When our parents graduated, purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community. But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in communities is declining. Many people feel disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void.
As I've traveled around, I've sat with children in juvenile detention and opioid addicts, who told me their lives could have turned out differently if they just had something to do, an after school program or somewhere to go. I've met factory workers who know their old jobs aren't coming back and are trying to find their place.
To keep our society moving forward, we have a generational challenge -- to not only create new jobs, but create a renewed sense of purpose.
I remember the night I launched Facebook from my little dorm in Kirkland House. I went to Noch's with my friend KX. I remember telling him I was excited to connect the Harvard community, but one day someone would connect the whole world.
The thing is, it never even occurred to me that someone might be us. We were just college kids. We didn't know anything about that. There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it. But this idea was so clear to us -- that all people want to connect. So we just kept moving forward, day by day.
I know a lot of you will have your own stories just like this. A change in the world that seems so clear you're sure someone else will do it. But they won't. You will.
But it's not enough to have purpose yourself. You have to create a sense of purpose for others.
I found that out the hard way. You see, my hope was never to build a company, but to make an impact. And as all these people started joining us, I just assumed that's what they cared about too, so I never explained what I hoped we'd build.
A couple years in, some big companies wanted to buy us. I didn't want to sell. I wanted to see if we could connect more people. We were building the first News Feed, and I thought if we could just launch this, it could change how we learn about the world.
Nearly everyone else wanted to sell. Without a sense of higher purpose, this was the startup dream come true. It tore our company apart. After one tense argument, an advisor told me if I didn't agree to sell, I would regret the decision for the rest of my life. Relationships were so frayed that within a year or so every single person on the management team was gone.
That was my hardest time leading Facebook. I believed in what we were doing, but I felt alone. And worse, it was my fault. I wondered if I was just wrong, an imposter, a 22 year-old kid who had no idea how the world worked.
Now, years later, I understand that *is* how things work with no sense of higher purpose. It's up to us to create it so we can all keep moving forward together.
Today I want to talk about three ways to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose: by taking on big meaningful projects together, by redefining equality so everyone has the freedom to pursue purpose, and by building community across the world.
First, let's take on big meaningful projects.
Our generation will have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks. But we have the potential to do so much more together.
Every generation has its defining works. More than 300,000 people worked to put a man on the moon – including that janitor. Millions of volunteers immunized children around the world against polio. Millions of more people built the Hoover dam and other great projects.
These projects didn't just provide purpose for the people doing those jobs, they gave our whole country a sense of pride that we could do great things.
Now it's our turn to do great things. I know, you're probably thinking: I don't know how to build a dam, or get a million people involved in anything.
But let me tell you a secret: no one does when they begin. Ideas don't come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started.
If I had to understand everything about connecting people before I began, I never would have started Facebook.
Movies and pop culture get this all wrong. The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate since we haven't had ours. It prevents people with seeds of good ideas from getting started. Oh, you know what else movies get wrong about innovation? No one writes math formulas on glass. That's not a thing.
It's good to be idealistic. But be prepared to be misunderstood. Anyone working on a big vision will get called crazy, even if you end up right. Anyone working on a complex problem will get blamed for not fully understanding the challenge, even though it's impossible to know everything upfront. Anyone taking initiative will get criticized for moving too fast, because there's always someone who wants to slow you down.
In our society, we often don't do big things because we're so afraid of making mistakes that we ignore all the things wrong today if we do nothing. The reality is, anything we do will have issues in the future. But that can't keep us from starting.
So what are we waiting for? It's time for our generation-defining public works. How about stopping climate change before we destroy the planet and getting millions of people involved manufacturing and installing solar panels? How about curing all diseases and asking volunteers to track their health data and share their genomes? Today we spend 50x more treating people who are sick than we spend finding cures so people don’t get sick in the first place. That makes no sense. We can fix this. How about modernizing democracy so everyone can vote online, and personalizing education so everyone can learn?
These achievements are within our reach. Let's do them all in a way that gives everyone in our society a role. Let's do big things, not only to create progress, but to create purpose.
So taking on big meaningful projects is the first thing we can do to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
The second is redefining equality to give everyone the freedom they need to pursue purpose.
Many of our parents had stable jobs throughout their careers. Now we're all entrepreneurial, whether we're starting projects or finding or role. And that's great. Our culture of entrepreneurship is how we create so much progress.
Now, an entrepreneurial culture thrives when it's easy to try lots of new ideas. Facebook wasn't the first thing I built. I also built games, chat systems, study tools and music players. I'm not alone. JK Rowling got rejected 12 times before publishing Harry Potter. Even Beyonce had to make hundreds of songs to get Halo. The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail.
But today, we have a level of wealth inequality that hurts everyone. When you don't have the freedom to take your idea and turn it into a historic enterprise, we all lose. Right now our society is way over-indexed on rewarding success and we don't do nearly enough to make it easy for everyone to take lots of shots.
Let's face it. There is something wrong with our system when I can leave here and make billions of dollars in 10 years while millions of students can't afford to pay off their loans, let alone start a business.
Look, I know a lot of entrepreneurs, and I don't know a single person who gave up on starting a business because they might not make enough money. But I know lots of people who haven't pursued dreams because they didn't have a cushion to fall back on if they failed.
We all know we don't succeed just by having a good idea or working hard. We succeed by being lucky too. If I had to support my family growing up instead of having time to code, if I didn't know I'd be fine if Facebook didn't work out, I wouldn't be standing here today. If we're honest, we all know how much luck we've had.
Every generation expands its definition of equality. Previous generations fought for the vote and civil rights. They had the New Deal and Great Society. Now it's our time to define a new social contract for our generation.
We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like GDP, but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things. We’re going to change jobs many times, so we need affordable childcare to get to work and healthcare that aren't tied to one company. We're all going to make mistakes, so we need a society that focuses less on locking us up or stigmatizing us. And as technology keeps changing, we need to focus more on continuous education throughout our lives.
And yes, giving everyone the freedom to pursue purpose isn't free. People like me should pay for it. Many of you will do well and you should too.
That's why Priscilla and I started the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and committed our wealth to promoting equal opportunity. These are the values of our generation. It was never a question of if we were going to do this. The only question was when.
Millennials are already one of the most charitable generations in history. In one year, three of four US millennials made a donation and seven out of ten raised money for charity.
But it's not just about money. You can also give time. I promise you, if you take an hour or two a week -- that's all it takes to give someone a hand, to help them reach their potential.
Maybe you think that's too much time . I used to. When Priscilla graduated from Harvard she became a teacher, and before she'd do education work with me, she told me I needed to teach a class. I complained: "Well, I'm kind of busy. I'm running this company." But she insisted, so I taught a middle school program on entrepreneurship at the local Boys and Girls Club.
I taught them lessons on product development and marketing, and they taught me what it's like feeling targeted for your race and having a family member in prison. I shared stories from my time in school, and they shared their hope of one day going to college too. For five years now, I’ve been having dinner with those kids every month. One of them threw me and Priscilla our first baby shower. And next year they’re going to college. Every one of them. First in their families.
We can all make time to give someone a hand. Let's give everyone the freedom to pursue their purpose -- not only because it's the right thing to do, but because when more people can turn their dreams into something great, we're all better for it.
Purpose doesn't only come from work. The third way we can create a sense of purpose for everyone is by building community. And when our generation says "everyone", we mean everyone in the world.
Quick show of hands: how many of you are from another country? Now, how many of you are friends with one of these folks? Now we're talking. We have grown up connected.
In a survey asking millennials around the world what defines our identity, the most popular answer wasn't nationality, religion or ethnicity, it was "citizen of the world". That's a big deal.
Every generation expands the circle of people we consider "one of us". For us, it now encompasses the entire world.
We understand the great arc of human history bends towards people coming together in ever greater numbers -- from tribes to cities to nations -- to achieve things we couldn't on our own.
We get that our greatest opportunities are now global -- we can be the generation that ends poverty, that ends disease.
We get that our greatest challenges need global responses too -- no country can fight climate change alone or prevent pandemics. Progress now requires coming together not just as cities or nations, but also as a global community.
But we live in an unstable time. There are people left behind by globalization across the world. It's hard to care about people in other places if we don’t feel good about our lives here at home. There’s pressure to turn inwards.
This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism. Forces for the flow of knowledge, trade and immigration against those who would slow them down. This is not a battle of nations, it's a battle of ideas. There are people in every country for global connection and good people against it.
This isn't going to be decided at the UN either. It's going to happen at the local level, when enough of us feel a sense of purpose and stability in our own lives that we can open up and start caring about everyone. The best way to do that is to start building local communities right now.
We all get meaning from our communities. Whether our communities are houses or sports teams, churches or music groups, they give us that sense we are part of something bigger, that we are not alone; they give us the strength to expand our horizons.
That's why it's so striking that for decades, membership in all kinds of groups has declined as much as one-quarter.
That's a lot of people who now need to find purpose somewhere else.But I know we can rebuild our communities and start new ones because many of you already are.
I met Agnes Igoye, who's graduating today. Where are you, Agnes? She spent her childhood navigating conflict zones in Uganda, and now she trains thousands of law enforcement officers to keep communities safe.
I met Kayla Oakley and Niha Jain, graduating today, too. Stand up. Kayla and Niha started a non-profit that connects people suffering from illnesses with people in their communities willing to help.
I met David Razu Aznar, graduating from the Kennedy School today. David, stand up. He’s a former city councilor who successfully led the battle to make Mexico City the first Latin American city to pass marriage equality -- even before San Francisco.
This is my story too. A student in a dorm room, connecting one community at a time, and keeping at it until one day we connect the whole world.
Change starts local. Even global changes start small -- with people like us. In our generation, the struggle of whether we connect more, whether we achieve our biggest opportunities, comes down to this -- your ability to build communities and create a world where every single person has a sense of purpose.
Class of 2017, you are graduating into a world that needs purpose. It's up to you to create it.
Now, you may be thinking: can I really do this?
Remember when I told you about that class I taught at the Boys and Girls Club? One day after class I was talking to them about college, and one of my top students raised his hand and said he wasn't sure he could go because he's undocumented. He didn't know if they'd let him in.
Last year I took him out to breakfast for his birthday. I wanted to get him a present, so I asked him and he started talking about students he saw struggling and said "You know, I'd really just like a book on social justice."
I was blown away. Here's a young guy who has every reason to be cynical. He didn't know if the country he calls home -- the only one he's known -- would deny him his dream of going to college. But he wasn't feeling sorry for himself. He wasn't even thinking of himself. He has a greater sense of purpose, and he's going to bring people along with him.
It says something about our current situation that I can't even say his name because I don't want to put him at risk.
But if a high school senior who doesn't know what the future holds can do his part to move the world forward, then we owe it to the world to do our part too.
Before you walk out those gates one last time, as we sit in front of Memorial Church, I am reminded of a prayer, Mi Shebeirach, that I say whenever I face a challenge, that I sing to my daughter thinking about her future when I tuck her into bed. It goes:
"May the source of strength, who blessed the ones before us, help us *find the courage* to make our lives a blessing."
I hope you find the courage to make your life a blessing.
Congratulations, Class of '17! Good luck out there.
並非如此。但是沒有Facemash的話，我遇不到Priscilla。她是我生命中最重要的人，所以從這個角度說，Facemash是我人生中做出的最重要的一樣東西。在這裡，我們開始結交一生的摯友，甚至有的以後會成為家人。這是為什麼我對這裡如此感激的原因。謝謝你，哈佛！
目標才能創造你真正的快樂
今天我想談談目標（Purpose），但是我不是來給你們做一些程式化的宣言，告訴你們如何發現目標。
我們是千禧一代，我們會出於直覺和本能發現目標。相反地，我站在這裡要說的是，僅僅發現目標還不夠。我們這代人面臨的挑戰，是創造一個人人都能有使命感的世界。
我最喜歡的一個故事，是約翰·F·甘迺迪訪問美國宇航局太空中心時，看到了一個拿著掃帚的看門人。於是他走過去問這人在幹什麼。看門人回答說：“總統先生，我正在幫助把一個人送往月球。”
目標是我們意識到我們是比自己更大的東西的一部分，是我們被需要的、我們需要更為之努力的東西。目標能創造真正的快樂。
當我走過很多地方的時候，我曾和許多被拘留的、阿片類藥物成癮的孩子們坐在一起，他們告訴我如果他們有事可做，參加課後活動或者有地方可去，他們的人生會變得很不一樣。我也遇到過很多工廠的工人，他們沒法再從事之前從事的工作了，所以試圖找到新的能做的事。
為了保持社會的進步，我們身負挑戰——不僅僅是創造新的工作，還要創造新的目標。
我還記得在Kirkland House的小宿舍中創造Facebook的那晚。我和我的朋友KX去了Noch。我記得我告訴他，我很開心能把哈佛的社群連接起來，但是有一天，有人會把整個世界都連接起來。
我完全沒有想到這個人會是我們。當時我們還只是大學生，對此還並不瞭解。所有這些大型技術公司都有資源，我只是認為其中一個大公司會做到這一點。但是，我對這個想法很確信——所有人都想和彼此連接，所以我們一直在朝這個方向努力前進。
我知道你們中的很多人也會有類似的故事。你覺得很多人都在改變世界，然而他們並沒有，而你會。
但是，光有目標是不夠的。你必須擁有心系他人的目標。
意識到這點非常難。我從來沒想過創造一個公司，我想要的是創造影響力，越來越多的人加入我們，我假設他們跟我關心的是同樣的東西，所以我從來沒解釋過我到底希望建立什麼。
沒有更高遠的使命感，不可能夢想成真
幾年來，一些大公司想要收購我們。我拒絕了。我想知道是否能連接更多的人。我們正在建立第一個新聞流（News Feed），當時我想，如果我們能做到這一點，它可能會改變我們學習世界的方式。
幾乎所有人都想讓我把公司賣了。沒有更高遠的使命感，這個創業公司不可能夢想成真。經過激烈的爭論後，一位顧問跟我說，如果我不同意出售，我會後悔一輩子。一年左右的時間裡，當時的管理層幾乎都走了。
這是我在Facebook時最艱難的時刻。我相信我們在做的東西，但是我也感到孤獨。更糟糕的是，當時我覺得這是我的錯。我在想是不是我錯了，一個22歲的小孩，都不知道世界是怎麼運轉的。
多年以後的今天，我明白了，那是因為沒有更高的目標。由我們來創造它，這樣我們就能一起前進。
沒有人從一開始就知道，如何變得偉大
我們這一代將不得不面對數千萬的工作被機器取代的情況，比如自動駕駛。但我們還有很多事能一起去完成。
每一代都有屬於自己一代的作品。比如有超過30萬人一起努力，讓人類登上了月球——包括那個看門的人；數百萬志願者為世界各地的小兒麻痹症患者打疫苗；數以百萬計的人為建立胡佛水壩和其他偉大的項目貢獻了自己的力量。
做這些項目的使命，並不僅僅是為人們提供工作，而是讓我們整個國家感到自豪，我們可以做一些偉大的事情。
現在輪到我們來做一些偉大的事了。我知道，你可能會想：我不知道如何建造大壩，或者如何讓一百萬人參與到任何事情中來。
但我想告訴你一個秘密：沒有人從一開始就知道如何做，想法並不會在最初就完全成型。只有當你工作時才變得逐漸清晰，你只需要做的，就是開始。
如果我必須在開始（Facebook）之前就瞭解清楚“如何連接人”的想法，那麼我就不會啟動Facebook了。
理想主義是好事，但你要做好被誤解的準備
或許電影和流行文化會讓人覺得被誤導，那些想法會出現在一些靈光一閃的時刻，這其實是一個危險的謊言。這讓我們感到不滿足，因為我們沒有了我們自己的（行動），它會阻止那些擁有好想法的人去開始。
對了，你知道電影當中還有什麼是對創新的誤解嗎？那就是，沒有人會在玻璃上寫數學公式。那不是什麼事。
其實，理想主義是好事，但你要做好被誤解的準備：
任何為了更大願景工作的人，可能會被稱為瘋子，即使你最終獲得成功。
任何為了複雜問題工作的人，都會因為不能全面瞭解挑戰而被指責，即使你不可能事先瞭解一切。
任何抓住主動權先行一步的人，都會因為步子太快而受到批評，因為總是有人想讓你慢下來。
在我們的社會裡，我們並不經常做一些偉大的事，因為我們害怕犯錯。如果我們什麼都不做，我們就忽視了今天所有的錯誤。事實上，我們所做的任何事情將來都會有問題，但這不能阻止我們開始。
還有很多問題，我們這一代可以去解決
在地球摧毀之前，如何阻止氣候變化？如何讓數百萬人願意參與制造和安裝太陽能電池板？
如何治癒所有疾病？如何要求志願者跟蹤他們的健康資料和分享他們的基因組？
今天，我們可能要花上50倍的價格去治療病人，而不是找到一種治療方法讓人類第一時間無法染上疾病。這並不合理，我們可以解決這個問題。
這些成就，在我們能力範圍內是可以實現的，讓我們讓每個人在我們社會中發揮其應有的作用來做這些事情。
讓我們做一些偉大的事情，不僅要創造進步，而是要創造purpose。
所以我們可以做的第一件事就是，創造一個每人都擁有使命感的世界。
追求目標的自由，從來都不是免費的
Facebook並不是我做的第一件事，我還做過遊戲、聊天系統、學習工具和音樂播放機。我並不孤獨， 因為JK羅琳在出版《哈利波特》之前被拒絕了12次，即使碧昂絲也不得不寫了數百首歌曲，才有了今天Halo這首歌獲得的光環。最大的成功來自於我們享有失敗的自由。
然而，今天，財富不均會讓每個人都受到傷害。當你沒有自由把你的想法變成一個歷史性的企業的時候，我們就輸了。現在，我們的社會在通往成功的路上有過多的指引，但我們做得不夠，並不是每個人都能夠輕易得分（獲得成功）。
面對現實吧，我們的社會體系是有問題的，當我能夠離開哈佛並在10年內賺取數十億美元的時候，還有數百萬學生無法償還貸款，更不用說開始創業。
我認識很多企業家，然而我並不知道是否有一個人是因為沒有足夠的錢而放棄創業。但是我知道很多人不敢追求夢想，因為一旦他們失敗，並沒有很好的緩衝物降低失敗的風險。
我們都知道，想要成功，光憑一個好想法，或者一個好的工作態度，是遠遠不夠的。幸運，也是成功很重要的因素。如果當初，我無法花時間編寫代碼，而是必須勤工儉學補貼家用，如果我無法承受“萬一Facebook不能成功”這一假設，我今天都不會站在這裡。誠實地想一想，我們都知道，（能夠有今天）自己是多麼的幸運。
是的，賦予每個人追求目標的自由，這並不是免費的。像我這樣的人應當為此付費。在你們之中，許多人都會做得很好，當然，你們也有義務去做好。
這也是為什麼當初 Priscilla 和我啟動了Chan Zuckerberg Initiative（小紮和妻子成立的基金會，希望消除人類的疾病，建設一個強大的社區，為此捐出了自己持有的 99% Facebook 股份，大約 450 億美元），並承諾要我們的財富去促進機會平等。這些是我們這代人的價值。
“要不要這樣做”從來都不是問題，唯一的問題是“什麼時候去做”。
花一點時間，去幫助其他人
千禧一代已經是歷史上最慈善的一代人之一了。千禧一代的美國人在一年中，平均四個人裡就有三個人會捐款，平均十個人裡就有七個人會為慈善募捐。
但這也不僅限於金錢。你也可以奉獻你的時間。我在這裡向你保證，如果你可以每一兩周要花一個小時（去奉獻和幫助），就會有一個人因此獲得幫助，甚至實現他們以前不可能實現的目標。
或許你覺得這太花時間了。我曾經也這麼認為。當Priscilla畢業於哈佛後，她成了一名老師，在她和我一起投身教育行業之前，她告訴我，我需要去教授一門課。我抱怨道：“好吧，可是我很忙啊，我得經營Facebook啊。”但是她堅持讓我去教課，所以我就在當地的男童女童俱樂部教授了一門關於創業精神的中學課程。
五年來，我每個月都會和這些孩子一起共進一次晚餐。其中有一個孩子，為我與Priscilla的第一個寶寶在出生前，舉辦了寶寶洗禮派對。明年，這些孩子們都要上大學了，是的，他們每一個都要上大學了，而且他們都將驕傲地成為自己家族裡第一名大學生。
花一點時間，去幫助其他人，這是我們每個人都可以做到的。讓我們通過此舉，讓每個人都有實現人生目標的自由——不僅因為這樣做是正確的，更是因為當人們可以把夢想變為偉大的現實時，我們每個人都會變得更好。
全球性的改變，也是源自微小的事物
在最近一項調查中，世界各地的80後90後被要求選擇自己認同的身份，最流行的答案不是國籍，宗教或種族，它是“世界公民”。
這是一個標誌性的事件。
我遇到了今天畢業的Agnes Igoye，（對著現場說，你在哪裡，Agnes？）她在烏干達的衝突地區度過童年時期，現在她在訓練數以千計的執法人員來保持社區的安全。
我遇到Kayla和Niha，也是今天畢業，他們發起了一個非營利組織，將患有疾病的人與社區內願意幫助他們的人聯繫起來。
我遇到了David Razu Aznar，今天從甘迺迪政治學院畢業（對著現場說，David站起來）。他是前墨西哥市的議員，他成功領導了一場運動，使墨西哥城成為第一個通過婚姻平等法案的拉丁美洲城市，甚至比三藩市還早。
這也是我自己的故事，一個宅在宿舍的學生，一次連接了一個社群，然後始終維護它，直到有一天我們連接了整個世界。
改變源於身邊。甚至全球性的改變，也是源自微小的事物——和我們一樣的人。
在你們最後一次走出這些校門之前，當我們坐在這紀念教堂前的時候，我想起了一段祈禱，Mi Shebeirach，每當我面對挑戰時我都會說的，每當我把女兒放進嬰兒床裡想像著她的未來都會唱到的：
願力量之源，在我們面前祝福那些人，幫助我們找到勇氣，使我們的生活成為一件幸事。（"May the source of strength, who blessed the ones before us, help us *find the courage* to make our lives a blessing."）
我希望你們也可以找到屬於自己的勇氣，使你們的生命擁有美好的祝福。
祝賀2017級的畢業生們，祝你們好運。
英文原文
President Faust, Board of Overseers, faculty, alumni, friends, proud parents, members of the ad board, and graduates of the greatest university in the world,
I'm honored to be with you today because, let's face it, you accomplished something I never could. If I get through this speech, it'll be the first time I actually finish something at Harvard. Class of 2017, congratulations!
I'm an unlikely speaker, not just because I dropped out, but because we're technically in the same generation. We walked this yard less than a decade apart, studied the same ideas and slept through the same Ec10 lectures. We may have taken different paths to get here, especially if you came all the way from the Quad, but today I want to share what I've learned about our generation and the world we're building together.
But first, the last couple of days have brought back a lot of good memories.How many of you remember exactly what you were doing when you got that email telling you that you got into Harvard? I was playing Civilization and I ran downstairs, got my dad, and for some reason, his reaction was to video me opening the email. That could have been a really sad video. I swear getting into Harvard is still the thing my parents are most proud of me for.
What about your first lecture at Harvard? Mine was Computer Science 121 with the incredible Harry Lewis. I was late so I threw on a t-shirt and didn't realize until afterwards it was inside out and backwards with my tag sticking out the front. I couldn't figure out why no one would talk to me -- except one guy, KX Jin, he just went with it. We ended up doing our problem sets together, and now he runs a big part of Facebook. And that, Class of 2017, is why you should be nice to people.
But my best memory from Harvard was meeting Priscilla. I had just launched this prank website Facemash, and the ad board wanted to "see me". Everyone thought I was going to get kicked out. My parents came to help me pack. My friends threw me a going away party. As luck would have it, Priscilla was at that party with her friend. We met in line for the bathroom in the Pfoho Belltower, and in what must be one of the all time romantic lines, I said: "I'm going to get kicked out in three days, so we need to go on a date quickly."
Actually, any of you graduating can use that line.I didn't end up getting kicked out -- I did that to myself. Priscilla and I started dating. And, you know, that movie made it seem like Facemash was so important to creating Facebook. It wasn't. But without Facemash I wouldn't have met Priscilla, and she's the most important person in my life, so you could say it was the most important thing I built in my time here.
We've all started lifelong friendships here, and some of us even families. That's why I'm so grateful to this place.Thanks, Harvard.
Today I want to talk about purpose. But I'm not here to give you the standard commencement about finding your purpose. We're millennials. We'll try to do that instinctively. Instead, I'm here to tell you finding your purpose isn't enough. The challenge for our generation is creating a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
One of my favorite stories is when John F Kennedy visited the NASA space center, he saw a janitor carrying a broom and he walked over and asked what he was doing. The janitor responded: "Mr. President, I'm helping put a man on the moon".
Purpos e is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is what creates true happiness.
You're graduating at a time when this is especially important. When our parents graduated, purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community. But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in communities is declining. Many people feel disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void.
As I've traveled around, I've sat with children in juvenile detention and opioid addicts, who told me their lives could have turned out differently if they just had something to do, an after school program or somewhere to go. I've met factory workers who know their old jobs aren't coming back and are trying to find their place.
To keep our society moving forward, we have a generational challenge -- to not only create new jobs, but create a renewed sense of purpose.
I remember the night I launched Facebook from my little dorm in Kirkland House. I went to Noch's with my friend KX. I remember telling him I was excited to connect the Harvard community, but one day someone would connect the whole world.
The thing is, it never even occurred to me that someone might be us. We were just college kids. We didn't know anything about that. There were all these big technology companies with resources. I just assumed one of them would do it. But this idea was so clear to us -- that all people want to connect. So we just kept moving forward, day by day.
I know a lot of you will have your own stories just like this. A change in the world that seems so clear you're sure someone else will do it. But they won't. You will.
But it's not enough to have purpose yourself. You have to create a sense of purpose for others.
I found that out the hard way. You see, my hope was never to build a company, but to make an impact. And as all these people started joining us, I just assumed that's what they cared about too, so I never explained what I hoped we'd build.
A couple years in, some big companies wanted to buy us. I didn't want to sell. I wanted to see if we could connect more people. We were building the first News Feed, and I thought if we could just launch this, it could change how we learn about the world.
Nearly everyone else wanted to sell. Without a sense of higher purpose, this was the startup dream come true. It tore our company apart. After one tense argument, an advisor told me if I didn't agree to sell, I would regret the decision for the rest of my life. Relationships were so frayed that within a year or so every single person on the management team was gone.
That was my hardest time leading Facebook. I believed in what we were doing, but I felt alone. And worse, it was my fault. I wondered if I was just wrong, an imposter, a 22 year-old kid who had no idea how the world worked.
Now, years later, I understand that *is* how things work with no sense of higher purpose. It's up to us to create it so we can all keep moving forward together.
Today I want to talk about three ways to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose: by taking on big meaningful projects together, by redefining equality so everyone has the freedom to pursue purpose, and by building community across the world.
First, let's take on big meaningful projects.
Our generation will have to deal with tens of millions of jobs replaced by automation like self-driving cars and trucks. But we have the potential to do so much more together.
Every generation has its defining works. More than 300,000 people worked to put a man on the moon – including that janitor. Millions of volunteers immunized children around the world against polio. Millions of more people built the Hoover dam and other great projects.
These projects didn't just provide purpose for the people doing those jobs, they gave our whole country a sense of pride that we could do great things.
Now it's our turn to do great things. I know, you're probably thinking: I don't know how to build a dam, or get a million people involved in anything.
But let me tell you a secret: no one does when they begin. Ideas don't come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started.
If I had to understand everything about connecting people before I began, I never would have started Facebook.
Movies and pop culture get this all wrong. The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate since we haven't had ours. It prevents people with seeds of good ideas from getting started. Oh, you know what else movies get wrong about innovation? No one writes math formulas on glass. That's not a thing.
It's good to be idealistic. But be prepared to be misunderstood. Anyone working on a big vision will get called crazy, even if you end up right. Anyone working on a complex problem will get blamed for not fully understanding the challenge, even though it's impossible to know everything upfront. Anyone taking initiative will get criticized for moving too fast, because there's always someone who wants to slow you down.
In our society, we often don't do big things because we're so afraid of making mistakes that we ignore all the things wrong today if we do nothing. The reality is, anything we do will have issues in the future. But that can't keep us from starting.
So what are we waiting for? It's time for our generation-defining public works. How about stopping climate change before we destroy the planet and getting millions of people involved manufacturing and installing solar panels? How about curing all diseases and asking volunteers to track their health data and share their genomes? Today we spend 50x more treating people who are sick than we spend finding cures so people don’t get sick in the first place. That makes no sense. We can fix this. How about modernizing democracy so everyone can vote online, and personalizing education so everyone can learn?
These achievements are within our reach. Let's do them all in a way that gives everyone in our society a role. Let's do big things, not only to create progress, but to create purpose.
So taking on big meaningful projects is the first thing we can do to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
The second is redefining equality to give everyone the freedom they need to pursue purpose.
Many of our parents had stable jobs throughout their careers. Now we're all entrepreneurial, whether we're starting projects or finding or role. And that's great. Our culture of entrepreneurship is how we create so much progress.
Now, an entrepreneurial culture thrives when it's easy to try lots of new ideas. Facebook wasn't the first thing I built. I also built games, chat systems, study tools and music players. I'm not alone. JK Rowling got rejected 12 times before publishing Harry Potter. Even Beyonce had to make hundreds of songs to get Halo. The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail.
But today, we have a level of wealth inequality that hurts everyone. When you don't have the freedom to take your idea and turn it into a historic enterprise, we all lose. Right now our society is way over-indexed on rewarding success and we don't do nearly enough to make it easy for everyone to take lots of shots.
Let's face it. There is something wrong with our system when I can leave here and make billions of dollars in 10 years while millions of students can't afford to pay off their loans, let alone start a business.
Look, I know a lot of entrepreneurs, and I don't know a single person who gave up on starting a business because they might not make enough money. But I know lots of people who haven't pursued dreams because they didn't have a cushion to fall back on if they failed.
We all know we don't succeed just by having a good idea or working hard. We succeed by being lucky too. If I had to support my family growing up instead of having time to code, if I didn't know I'd be fine if Facebook didn't work out, I wouldn't be standing here today. If we're honest, we all know how much luck we've had.
Every generation expands its definition of equality. Previous generations fought for the vote and civil rights. They had the New Deal and Great Society. Now it's our time to define a new social contract for our generation.
We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like GDP, but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things. We’re going to change jobs many times, so we need affordable childcare to get to work and healthcare that aren't tied to one company. We're all going to make mistakes, so we need a society that focuses less on locking us up or stigmatizing us. And as technology keeps changing, we need to focus more on continuous education throughout our lives.
And yes, giving everyone the freedom to pursue purpose isn't free. People like me should pay for it. Many of you will do well and you should too.
That's why Priscilla and I started the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and committed our wealth to promoting equal opportunity. These are the values of our generation. It was never a question of if we were going to do this. The only question was when.
Millennials are already one of the most charitable generations in history. In one year, three of four US millennials made a donation and seven out of ten raised money for charity.
But it's not just about money. You can also give time. I promise you, if you take an hour or two a week -- that's all it takes to give someone a hand, to help them reach their potential.
Maybe you think that's too much time . I used to. When Priscilla graduated from Harvard she became a teacher, and before she'd do education work with me, she told me I needed to teach a class. I complained: "Well, I'm kind of busy. I'm running this company." But she insisted, so I taught a middle school program on entrepreneurship at the local Boys and Girls Club.
I taught them lessons on product development and marketing, and they taught me what it's like feeling targeted for your race and having a family member in prison. I shared stories from my time in school, and they shared their hope of one day going to college too. For five years now, I’ve been having dinner with those kids every month. One of them threw me and Priscilla our first baby shower. And next year they’re going to college. Every one of them. First in their families.
We can all make time to give someone a hand. Let's give everyone the freedom to pursue their purpose -- not only because it's the right thing to do, but because when more people can turn their dreams into something great, we're all better for it.
Purpose doesn't only come from work. The third way we can create a sense of purpose for everyone is by building community. And when our generation says "everyone", we mean everyone in the world.
Quick show of hands: how many of you are from another country? Now, how many of you are friends with one of these folks? Now we're talking. We have grown up connected.
In a survey asking millennials around the world what defines our identity, the most popular answer wasn't nationality, religion or ethnicity, it was "citizen of the world". That's a big deal.
Every generation expands the circle of people we consider "one of us". For us, it now encompasses the entire world.
We understand the great arc of human history bends towards people coming together in ever greater numbers -- from tribes to cities to nations -- to achieve things we couldn't on our own.
We get that our greatest opportunities are now global -- we can be the generation that ends poverty, that ends disease.
We get that our greatest challenges need global responses too -- no country can fight climate change alone or prevent pandemics. Progress now requires coming together not just as cities or nations, but also as a global community.
But we live in an unstable time. There are people left behind by globalization across the world. It's hard to care about people in other places if we don’t feel good about our lives here at home. There’s pressure to turn inwards.
This is the struggle of our time. The forces of freedom, openness and global community against the forces of authoritarianism, isolationism and nationalism. Forces for the flow of knowledge, trade and immigration against those who would slow them down. This is not a battle of nations, it's a battle of ideas. There are people in every country for global connection and good people against it.
This isn't going to be decided at the UN either. It's going to happen at the local level, when enough of us feel a sense of purpose and stability in our own lives that we can open up and start caring about everyone. The best way to do that is to start building local communities right now.
We all get meaning from our communities. Whether our communities are houses or sports teams, churches or music groups, they give us that sense we are part of something bigger, that we are not alone; they give us the strength to expand our horizons.
That's why it's so striking that for decades, membership in all kinds of groups has declined as much as one-quarter.
That's a lot of people who now need to find purpose somewhere else.But I know we can rebuild our communities and start new ones because many of you already are.
I met Agnes Igoye, who's graduating today. Where are you, Agnes? She spent her childhood navigating conflict zones in Uganda, and now she trains thousands of law enforcement officers to keep communities safe.
I met Kayla Oakley and Niha Jain, graduating today, too. Stand up. Kayla and Niha started a non-profit that connects people suffering from illnesses with people in their communities willing to help.
I met David Razu Aznar, graduating from the Kennedy School today. David, stand up. He’s a former city councilor who successfully led the battle to make Mexico City the first Latin American city to pass marriage equality -- even before San Francisco.
This is my story too. A student in a dorm room, connecting one community at a time, and keeping at it until one day we connect the whole world.
Change starts local. Even global changes start small -- with people like us. In our generation, the struggle of whether we connect more, whether we achieve our biggest opportunities, comes down to this -- your ability to build communities and create a world where every single person has a sense of purpose.
Class of 2017, you are graduating into a world that needs purpose. It's up to you to create it.
Now, you may be thinking: can I really do this?
Remember when I told you about that class I taught at the Boys and Girls Club? One day after class I was talking to them about college, and one of my top students raised his hand and said he wasn't sure he could go because he's undocumented. He didn't know if they'd let him in.
Last year I took him out to breakfast for his birthday. I wanted to get him a present, so I asked him and he started talking about students he saw struggling and said "You know, I'd really just like a book on social justice."
I was blown away. Here's a young guy who has every reason to be cynical. He didn't know if the country he calls home -- the only one he's known -- would deny him his dream of going to college. But he wasn't feeling sorry for himself. He wasn't even thinking of himself. He has a greater sense of purpose, and he's going to bring people along with him.
It says something about our current situation that I can't even say his name because I don't want to put him at risk.
But if a high school senior who doesn't know what the future holds can do his part to move the world forward, then we owe it to the world to do our part too.
Before you walk out those gates one last time, as we sit in front of Memorial Church, I am reminded of a prayer, Mi Shebeirach, that I say whenever I face a challenge, that I sing to my daughter thinking about her future when I tuck her into bed. It goes:
"May the source of strength, who blessed the ones before us, help us *find the courage* to make our lives a blessing."
I hope you find the courage to make your life a blessing.
Congratulations, Class of '17! Good luck out there.