Today is the end of your school career and it’s the start of a brand new chapter in your life. You are now entering a very exciting and important part of your life. You will experience a new school, new culture, new friends and new challenges. And most importantly – you will be expected to do this on your own.

　　今天是你们高中生涯的结束，同时也揭开了人生中崭新的一页，因为你们即将步入人生中另一个激动人心的重要阶段。你们将会体验到新学校、感受新文化、结实新朋友并面临新挑战。最重要的是，你们将独自面对。

　　Your parents nor your teachers will be with you to tell you how, when and what to do. Your teachers are going to treat you very different, they are no longer going to remind you of deadlines, they won’t give you a second or third chance to complete an assignment, and there is avery good chance that you may just become another face in the crowd.

　　你们将不能再依靠父母和老师，因为他们不会再告诉你们该做什么、怎么做抑或什么时候做。今后你们所遇到的老师也不会像现在这样提醒你截止日期、或者重新给你一次完成作业的机会，而你们很可能将成为人群中另一张张普通的面孔。

　　And now the big question is, how are you going to excel in your new life and new challenges.

　　现在最大的问题是，你们将如何迎接新的挑战，并在新的征程中脱颖而出。

　　1.Be yourself and discover who and what you are.

　　You may think you know yourself now, but Every new challenge in life brings us a new opportunity to grow and become a better self.

　　When I initially made the move to China, I thought I knew myself and that I was a well-grounded person.

　　As soon as I walked off the planeI had a reality check. Everything I knew about life was turned upside down and inside out. And now, four years later I’m a completely different person. When I go home, I don’t even recognize the person that left South Africa. And why did this happen?

　　I’ve allowed myself to grow as a professional where I had to change the way I teach in the classroom in order to adapt to a new culture that I was presented with.

　　I grew as a person by accepting the challenges the I was presented with to make it through my normal day to day living.

　　I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I managed to find my way back home, for the 1st time, in taxi, in China, without the help of anybody. It was a feeling that I’ve just conquered the world and that I overcame one of the biggest challenges of my life. I was able to be my independent self again.

　　1.做自己，发现真正的自己

　　你们可能觉得现在已经很了解自己了，但是生活中的每个挑战都是一个机遇，让你成长为更好的自己。

　　初到中国时，我以为我很了解自己，在处理问题时也能够得心应手。

　　但在我走下飞机那一刻，我知道我要面对现实了，因为这和我所熟悉的生活截然不同。而现在，四年之后的我已判若两人。当我回家的时候，我甚至认不出当初那个离开南非的我了。为什么会这样呢？

　　因为我让自己变得更加专业，包括我必须改变教学的方式，以适应我所要面对的新文化。

　　我接受生活中的各种挑战，这也逐渐让我成长，并收获了在日常生活中解决问题的能力。

　　我永远都不会忘记我在没有任何人帮助下、第一次一个人在中国搭出租车回到家的感觉。那一刻我觉得我征服了世界，并克服了我生命中最大的挑战之一。因为这让我再次成为一个独立的我自己。

　　2.Be open to new cultural experiences and be willing to share your own culture.

　　You have had the privilege of being taught by a truly international group of teachers. So you have had 1st hand experience of how our of differences can benefit the greater good.  And because of this, we can say that the AP Centre, Chengdu Foreign Languages is school is one of the best International programs in Chengdu.

　　Don’t be afraid to join or to start astudy group with other students from other cultures. This may just open a new perspective on how you can solve one problem.

　　Your own culture comes with thousands of years of knowledge and experiences. Don’t be afraid to use and share that knowledge with others. Be proud, be Chinese.

　　You might be expected to change the stereotypes about your own culture.

　　When I initially moved abroad I was shocked that people believed that that I grew up in a hut made of mud and that we have lions roaming in the streets of South Africa.  and the best one of them all, I should have had a pet giraffe growing up in South Africa. Its only through my own behavior and making friends with people from other cultures that I’ve been able to change those stereotypes one person at a time.

　　2.乐于接受新的文化体验，并愿意分享自己的文化

　　在座的你们非常幸运，因为你们的教师团队是一个真正国际化的队伍。所以你可以亲身感受到差异是如何使人受益的。正因为如此，我们可以说成都外国语学校AP中心是成都最好的国际项目之一。

　　不要害怕与其他文化的学生一起参加或创办一个学习小组，因为这或许可以为你开辟一个新的解决问题的视角。

　　中华文化博大精深，源远流长。要勇于与他人分享并运用这些文化传统。要为自己是一个中国人而感到自豪。

　　你可能要改变人们对于中华文化的刻板印象。

　　刚出国时，我感到很震惊，因为人们觉得我应该生长在一个泥土修建的小屋里，群狮也在南非的街头漫步。至于其中“最好”的一个评论，则是我应该有一只在南非生长的宠物——长颈鹿。因此，只有通过我自己的一言一行，以及与其他不同文化的人交朋友，我才能够逐渐改变人们的这些观念。

　　3.Push yourself out of your comfort zone

　　It may be easy to meet people at university, but new friends aren't going to come knocking at your door. Make an effort to join clubs you otherwise wouldn't, even if you're tired and would prefer to lounge around and watch TV, try to make the extra effort to attend nighttime club meetings, film screenings, or international student reunions. Many universities also have extracurricular sports clubs and you don't need to be a varsity athlete to join. Never played Ultimate Frisbee before? Sign up and view it as a fun way to get some exercise, take a break from the books and meet some really great people.

　　3.逼迫自己跳出舒适区

　　在大学中很容易遇到不同的人，但是新朋友不会自己主动来敲门。努力加入学生社团。即使你不愿意这么做；即使你很疲惫，宁愿自己呆着看电视，也要尽量多花点时间参加夜间社团会议、电影放映或国际学生聚会。许多大学也有课外体育俱乐部，即使你不是大学运动员也可以加入。你以前从来没有玩过终极飞盘么？那你可以报名加入，并把它看做是一个有趣的锻炼，努力学习之余也要学会劳逸结合，并且还有可能会遇到一些非常棒的朋友。

　　4.Don't be afraid to go to things alone

　　At home, maybe you wouldn't be caught dead going to a movie or eating lunch by yourself. Why would you even need to? All of your friends were at your beck and call! But when you move abroad, you'll want to take advantage of campus events and opportunities, and initially you might not have an army of friends to accompany you. Conquer the great fear of solitude and attend clubs, organizations,or weekly comedy shows by yourself, then delve right in and strike up aconversation with someone whilst you're there. It's actually a whole lot simpler than it sounds. After the first minute, you'll no longer be"alone"!

　　4.不要害怕独自做事

　　在国内时，无论如何你都不愿意自己一个人去看电影或吃午饭。因为你所有的朋友都在等候你的“指挥”，所以完全没必要自己一个人做事。但是当你身居异国，你会想要充分参加校园活动并好好利用这些机会。但是最初你可能没有朋友的陪伴。那么你就要克服对孤独的恐惧，自己参加俱乐部、组织或每周喜剧表演。经过一番研究之后，你还可以和别人聊一聊当时的感受。实际上这比听起来要简单得多。一分钟以后，你将不再“孤独”！

　　So, I’m going to end this speech by my last few words of advice, Be creative, be adventurous, be open minded but most importantly, now is the time to show the world who, you really are.

　　最后，我想用以下几点建议来结束我今天的发言：要有创造力、要有冒险精神、要有开阔的思维，但最重要的是，现在是时候向世界展示真正的自我了。