REMARKS OF MRS. BUSH AT WELLESLEY COLLEGE
COMMENCEMENT
Thank you President Keohane, Mrs. Gorbachev, Trustees,
Faculty, Parents, Julia Porter, 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 are exciting in
Washington, and I have really looked forward to coming to
Wellesley. I thought it was going to be fun -- I never
dreamed it would be this much fun.
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?"
The pastor tells her there are no mermaids. "Oh yes there
are," she said. "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 mermaids fit
into the scheme of things. Where do 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 for 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 ... and for four years
the Class of 1990 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 ... a 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.
Early on I made another choice which I hope you will make
as well. Whether you are talking about education, career or
service, you are 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. Ya don't stop and look
around once in a while, ya gonna miss it!" (I am not going to tell George
you clapped more for Ferris than you did 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, lawyer or 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, not 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 the 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!
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, 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 50 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 you today 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.
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