Hello everyone! How was your day? I'm with students from wakefield High School in Arlington County, Virginia. Many students from kindergarten to senior three all over the country pay attention to this place through TV. I'm glad you can share this moment with me.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school, and some of you have just entered kindergarten or junior high school. It's your first day at a new school, so it's normal if you feel a little nervous. I think there will be many graduating students who are confidently preparing for the sprint in the last year. However, I think no matter how old you are or what grade you are in, many people sincerely hope that it is still summer vacation and that you don't have to get up so early today.

I can understand this feeling. When I was a child, my family lived in Indonesia for several years. My mother couldn't afford to send me to other places where American children went to school, so she decided to give me lessons by herself-every Monday to Friday at 4: 30 in the morning.

Obviously, I don't like getting up so early. Many times, I just fell asleep on the kitchen table. Whenever I complain, my mother always looks at me with the same expression and says, "Do you think it is easy to teach you, son?"

Therefore, I can understand that many of you still need time to adjust and adapt to the start of school, but I stand here today and tell you something important. I want to talk to you about the education of each of you and what you should do in the new school year.

I have made many speeches on education and often use the word "responsibility".

I mentioned that teachers have the responsibility to inspire you, inspire you and urge you to study.

I mentioned that parents have the responsibility to take care of you, study hard and finish your homework. Don't just watch TV or play video games all day.

I have also talked many times about the government's responsibility to set high standards and strict requirements, assist teachers and principals in their work, and change the current situation that students in some schools are not given the learning opportunities they deserve.

But even if all this is the best, even if we have the most conscientious teachers, the best parents and the best schools, all these efforts will be in vain if you don't fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you go to school on time every day, unless you listen to the teacher carefully, unless you take what your parents, elders and other adults say to heart, unless you are willing to make the necessary efforts for success, all this will be meaningless.

This is the theme of my speech today: the responsibility of each of you for your own education. First of all, I want to talk about your responsibility to yourself.

Each of you will have something that you are good at, and everyone is useful material. It is your responsibility to discover what your talent is. Education provides you with the opportunity to discover your talents.

Maybe you can write beautiful words-even make those words appear in books and newspapers one day-but if you don't practice writing in English classes often, you won't find yourself with such talent; Maybe you can be an inventor, a creator-you can even design products as popular as today's iPhone, or develop new drugs and vaccines-but you won't know that you have such talent unless you do some experiments in natural science courses; Maybe you can become a member of parliament or a Supreme Court judge, but if you don't join any student union or take part in several debates, you won't find your talent.

Moreover, I can assure you that whatever you want to do in the future, you need the corresponding education. Do you want to be a doctor, a teacher or a policeman? Do you want to be a nurse, an architect, a lawyer or a soldier? No matter which occupation you choose, a good education is essential. The dream of finding a good job without finishing school. Any job needs your sweat, training and study.

Not only is it important for your personal future, but how you are educated will also have an important impact on the future of this country and even the world. What you learn at school today will determine the performance of our whole country in dealing with major challenges in the future.

You need the knowledge and skills you have learned in mathematics science courses to treat diseases such as cancer and AIDS and solve the energy and environmental problems we are facing; You need the observation and judgment cultivated in history and social science courses to alleviate and eliminate homelessness and poverty, crime and all kinds of discrimination, and make this country more fair and free; You need the innovative consciousness and thinking accumulated and developed in various courses to start a business and establish new companies and enterprises, so as to create employment opportunities and promote economic growth.

We need each of you to cultivate and develop your talents, skills and talents to solve the most difficult problems we face. If you don't do this-if you give up studying-then you not only give up yourself, but also your country.

Of course, I understand that reading good books is not always easy. I know that many of you are facing all kinds of problems in your life, and it is difficult to concentrate on reading.

I know how you feel. My father left home when I was two years old. My mother raised us all by herself. Sometimes she can't pay the bill, and sometimes we can't get what other children have. Sometimes I think, if only my father were here, sometimes I feel lonely and out of tune with my surroundings.

Therefore, I can't always concentrate on my studies I have done a lot of things that I am ashamed of, and I have caused a lot of trouble that I shouldn't have caused. My life is in danger, and it may turn for the worse at any moment.

But I'm lucky. I got a second chance at many things. I have the opportunity to go to law school to realize my dream. My wife-now I have to call her First Lady Michelle Obama-had a similar life experience. Her parents didn't go to college and have no property, but both of them worked hard to give her a chance to study in the best school in this country.

Some of you may not have these advantages, there may be no elders in your life who can help and support you, one of your parents may be unemployed and in financial difficulties, the community you live in may not be so safe, and some friends you know may have a bad influence on you, and so on.

But in the final analysis, your living conditions-your appearance, background, economic conditions, family atmosphere-are not excuses for neglecting your studies and having a bad attitude. These are no excuses for talking back to teachers, skipping classes or dropping out of school. These are no excuses for not studying well.

Your future does not depend on whether your life is good or bad now. No one will arrange your destiny for you. In America, your destiny is written by yourself, and your future is in your own hands.

In every corner of this land, thousands of young people like you in Qian Qian are writing your own destiny in this way.

Like Jazmin Perez in Rome, Texas. When she first entered school, she couldn't speak English at all. Almost no one has ever lived in a university, and her parents have never received higher education. But she studied hard and got excellent grades. She entered Brown University on a scholarship and is now studying for a doctorate in public health.

I also thought of Andoni Schultz in Los Latos, California. He has been fighting brain cancer since he was three years old. He survived many treatments and operations-one of which affected his memory, so he had to spend hundreds of hours more than ordinary people to finish his studies, but he never missed his homework. This autumn, he will start studying in the university.

For example, in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois, Shantell Steve was an orphan who changed foster families many times and grew up in a poor security area. However, she managed to win the opportunity to work in a local health station and launched a project to keep teenagers away from criminal gangs. Soon, she will graduate from high school with honors and enter the university for further study.

Molly, Andoni and Chandel are no different from you. Like you, they also encounter various difficulties and problems in life, but they refuse to give up. They choose to be responsible for their education and set goals for themselves. I hope each of you can do this.

Therefore, today, I call on each of you to set a goal for your education, and then try your best to achieve it. Your goal can be as simple as finishing your homework every day, listening or reading carefully-maybe you plan to take part in some extracurricular activities or do some volunteer work in the community; Maybe you decide to make a decision for those children who are laughed at or bullied because of their looks or origins, and safeguard their rights and interests, because like me, you think that every child should have a safe learning environment; Maybe you think you should learn to take better care of yourself and prepare for your future study ... Of course, besides, I hope everyone will wash their hands more and rest at home when they are unwell, so as not to catch the flu in autumn and winter.

No matter what you decide to do, I hope you can stick to it and make up your mind.

I know, sometimes, TV programs will give you the illusion that you can become rich and successful without much effort-you will think that you can enjoy it as long as you can sing rap, play basketball or participate in some reality shows, but the reality is that it is almost impossible for you to embark on any of these roads.

Because success is hard. You can't be interested in every subject you want to read, you can't get along well with every teacher, and you can't meet homework that seems to be related to real life every time. Moreover, not everything can be successful at once.

But it doesn't matter. Because in this world, the most successful people often experience the most failures. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter was rejected by the publisher for twelve times before it was finally published; Michael Jordan was rejected by the school basketball team in high school. During his career, he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots. Do you know what he said? "I have failed all my life, and I have failed again and again. This is why I am successful now."

Their success stems from their understanding that people can't let failure control them-they should learn from it. From failure, you can understand what changes you can make next time; If you get into any trouble, it doesn't mean that you are a troublemaker, but reminds you to be more strict with yourself in the future; If you get a low score in the exam, it doesn't mean that you are more stupid than others, but that you should spend more time on your study.

No one is born to be good at anything. Only hard work can cultivate skills. No one becomes a representative of the school team the first time he comes into contact with a sport, and no one finds every sound the first time he sings a song. Everything needs practice to be perfect. The same is true of your studies. You may need to calculate repeatedly to get the correct answer to a math problem. You may have to read it several times to understand its meaning. You may need to revise your paper several times to meet the submission criteria. All this is normal.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask others for help. I do this every day. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it shows that you have the courage to admit your shortcomings and are willing to learn new knowledge. So, when you don't understand, ask adults for help-find someone you can trust, such as parents, elders, teachers, coaches or counselors-and let them help you move toward your goal.

Remember, even if you don't perform well, even if you lose confidence, even if you feel that everyone around you has given up on you-never give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you also give up on your country.

The United States is not a country that gives up easily when people encounter difficulties. In this country, people stick to it and redouble their efforts. For the country they love, everyone is doing their best and will not leave any room for themselves.

250 years ago, there were a group of students like you. They worked hard and finally created this country with a revolution. Seventy-five years ago, there were a group of students just like you. They later defeated the Great Depression and won World War II. Just 20 years ago, students like you later founded Google, Twitter and Facebook, which changed the way we communicate with each other.

So, today I want to ask you, what kind of contribution will you make? What kind of problems will you solve? What kind of things can you find? Twenty, fifty or a hundred years later, if the then president of the United States came to give an opening speech, how would he describe what you did to this country?

Your parents, your teacher and I, everyone is doing their best to ensure that you all get the education you deserve to answer these questions. For example, I am trying to provide you with safer classrooms, more books, more advanced facilities and computers. But you must also take your responsibility. Therefore, I ask you to take it seriously this year. I ask you to do everything you intend to do wholeheartedly. I ask each of you to achieve something. Please don't let us down-don't let your family, your country and yourself down. You should be proud of us. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.