演讲文本

I've been acting since I was 11.
我从11岁起就在演戏。
But I thought acting was too frivolous and certainly not meaningful.
但我认为演戏是轻佻且无意义的。
I came from a family of academics and was very concerned of being taken seriously.
我出身书香门第，非常在意别人是否把我当回事。
In contrast to my inability to declare myself, on my first day of orientation freshman year,
跟我不敢发声相比，大一时新生培训的第一天，
five separate students introduced themselves to me by saying, "I'm going to be president. Remember I told you that."
五个不同的同学分别跟我这样自己介绍，他们说，“我将来会当美国总统，记得我跟你说过这句话。”
Their names, for the record, were Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton.
严肃的说，他们的名字是伯尼·桑德斯、马克·卢比奥、泰德·克鲁兹、巴拉克·奥巴马和希拉里·克林顿。
In all seriousness, I believed every one of them.
说正经的，我相信他们每一个人。
Their bearing and self-confidence alone seemed proof of their prophecy where I couldn't shake my self-doubt.
他们的态度和自信本身就足以证明他们的预言，而我确无法摆脱自我怀疑。

I got in only because I was famous. This was how others saw me and it was how I saw myself.
我入学只是因为我是名人。别人就是这样看我的，我也是这样看我自己。
Driven by these insecurities, I decided I was going to find something to do in Harvard that was serious and meaningful
在不自信的驱使下，我决定要在哈佛找到严肃而有意义的事情，
that would change the world and make it a better place.
来改变世界，让世界更美好。
At the age of 18, I'd already been acting for 7 years, and assumed I find a more serious and profound path in college.
年仅18岁的我已经演了7年戏，以为自己在大学里找到一条更加严肃和深刻的路。
So freshman fall I decided to take neurologist and advanced modern Hebrew literature because I was serious and intellectual.
所以大一那年秋天我决定修神经生物学和高等现代希伯来文学，因为我很严肃、很智慧。
Needless to say, I should have failed both.
不用说，我两科都应该挂掉。
I got Bs, for your information, and to this day, every Sunday I burn a small effigy to the pagan Gods of grade inflation.
顺便说下，我拿到了B，而且直到今日，每周末我还要烧小雕像供奉保佑成绩注水的异教神灵。
But as I was fighting my way through Aleph Bet Yod Y shua in Hebrew and the different mechanisms of neuro-response,
但当我为了希伯来语课的ABC以及神经应答的不同机制而挣扎时，
I saw friends around me writing papers on sailing and pop culture magazines,
我看到朋友们写关于帆船的论文，写流行文化杂志，
and professors teaching classes on fairy tales and The Matrix.
看到教授讲童话故事和黑客帝国。
I realized that seriousness for seriousness's sake was its own kind of trophy,
我发现，为了严肃而严肃，这本身就是一种虚荣，
and a dubious one, a pose I sought to counter some half-imagined argument about who I was.
是一种模棱两可，是为了反抗我想象出的自我而采取的一种姿态。
There was a reason that I was an actor. I love what I do.
我当演员当然是有原因的，我爱我的职业。
And I saw from my peers and my mentors that it was not only an acceptable reason, it was the best reason.
我从我的同伴和导师们身上看到，这不只是一个可以接受的理由，这是最棒的理由。

演讲视频

娜塔丽·波特曼2015哈佛毕业演讲。