Dare to Compete，Dare to Love
演讲人：Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton希拉里·黛安·罗德姆·克林顿
It is such an honor and pleasure for me to be back at Yale，especially on the occasion of the 300th anniversary.I have had so many memories of my time here，and as Nick was speaking I thought about how I ended up at Yale Law School.And it tells a little bit about how much progress we"ve made.
What I think most about when I think of Yale is not just the politically charged atmosphere and not even just the superb legal education that I received.It was at Yale that I began work that has been at the core of what I have cared about ever since.I began working with New Haven legal services representing children.And I studied child development，abuse and neglect at the Yale New Haven Hospital and the Child Study Center.I was lucky enough to receive a civil rights internship with Marian Wright Edelman at the Children"s Defense Fund，where I went to work after I graduated.Those experiences fueled in mea passion to work for the benefit of children，particularly the most vulnerable.
Now，looking back，there is no way that I could have predicted what path my life would have taken.I didn"t sit around the law school，saying，well，you know，I think I"ll graduate and then I"ll go to work at the Children"s Defense Fund.and then the impeachment inquiry，and when Nixon retired or resigns，I"ll go to Arkansas.I didn"t think like that.I was taking each day at a time.
But，I"ve been very fortunate because Eve always had an idea in my mind about what I thought was important and what gave my life meaning and purpose.A set of values and beliefs that have helped me navigate the shoals，the sometimes very treacherous sea，to illuminate my own true desires，despite that others say about what I should care about and believe in.A passion to succeed at what I thought was important and children have always provided that lone star，that guiding light.Because I have that absolute conviction that every child，especially in this，the most blessed of nations that has ever existed on the face of the earth，that every child deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential.
But you know that belief and conviction-it may make for a personal mission statement，but standing alone，not translated into action，it means very little to anyone else，particularly to those for whom you have those concerns.
When I was thinking about running for the United States Senate-which was such an enormous decision to make，one I never could have dreamed that I Would havebeen making when I was here on this canlpus-I visited a school in New York City and I met a young woman，who was a star athlete.
1was there because of Billy Jean King promoting an HBO special about women in sports called"Dare to Compete."It was about Title IX and how we finally，thanks to government action，provided opportunities to girls and women in sports.
And although I played not very well at intramural sports，I have always been a strong supporter of women in sports.And I was introduced by this young woman，and as I went to shake her hand she obviously had been reading the newspapers about people saying I should or shouldn"t run for the Senate.And I was congratulating her on the speech she had just made and she held onto my hand and she said，"Dare to compete.Mrs.Clinton.Dare to compete."I took that to heart because it is hard to compete sometimes，especially in public ways，when your failures are there for everyone to see and you don"t know what is going to happen from one day to the next.And yet so much of life，whether we like to accept it or not，is competing with ourselves to be the best we can be，being involved in classes or professions or just life.where we know we are competing with others.
I took her advice and I did compete because I chose to do so.And the biggest choices that vou"ll face in yourlife will be yours alone to make.I"m sure you"ll receive good advice.You"ve got agreat education to go back and reflect about what is right for you，but you eventually will have to choose and I hope that you will dare to compete.And by that I don"t mean the kind of cutthroat competition that is too often characterized what is driving America today.I mean that small voice inside you that saysto you，you can do it，you can take this risk，you can take this next step.
And it doesn"t mean that once having made that choice you will always succeed.In fact.vou won"t.There are setbacks and you will experience difficult disappointments.You will be slowed down and sometimes the breath will just be knocked out of you.but if you carry with you the values and beliefs that you can make a difference in your own life，first and foremost，and then in the lives of others.You can get back up，you can keep going.
But it is also important，as I have found，not to take yourself too seriously，because after all every one of us here today，none of us is deserving of full credit，I think every day of the blessings my birth gave me without any doing of my own.I chose neither my family nor my country，but they as much as anything I"ve ever done，determined my course.
You compare my or your circumstances with those of the majority of people who"ve ever lived or who are living right now，they too often are born knowing too well what their futures will be.they layk the freedom to choose their life"s path.they"re imprisoned by circumstances of povrty and ignorance，bigotry，disease，hunger，oppression and war.
So，dare to compete，yes，but maybe even more difficult，dare to care.Dare to care about people who need our help to succeed and fulfill their ownfives.There are so many out there and sometimes all it takes is the simplest of gestures or helping hands and many of youunderstand that already.I know that the numbers of graduates in the last 20years have worked in community organizations.have tutored，have committed themselves to religious activities.
