In the August sun, it’s unbearably hot in my car. I’m in Vancouver, approaching the Knight Street Bridge as I try to get home after work. It’s 5:15 pm. Traffic is already slowing down and then it comes to a full stop. I’m stuck even before getting on the bridge.

This has become my normal work commute (上下班往返) routine. Ahead of me is a heavily jammed on-ramp (匝道). I stare at the endless rows of vehicles, depressed.

At first I think this is not how it looks. The traffic will soon start moving. Seconds pass. Minutes pass. Looking at the rows of cars and trucks glittering in the sun, I start counting — 299, 300, 301 — and I give up.

Suddenly I remember I’m one of the 300 helpless drivers. But I stay focused. When the cars do move, I move carefully, making sure not to bump into other vehicles. Finally, I make it onto the bridge. The traffic is still crawling at a snail’s pace. Tired and hungry, I become very anxious.

Just then, I hear a weak sound in the distance. The sound gradually becomes louder, until I can identify it as an emergency vehicle approaching from behind. What do we do? The bridge is packed. There’s no room for us to move.

But I’m wrong. Every single car quickly, yet carefully, moves to the side. Without thinking, I follow suit. The lane remains open for a few seconds during which the ambulance flashes through.

Afterward, every car moves back. We close up the emergency lane, ready to continue our patient wait. Back in my spot, I forget my tiredness and hunger. My anxiety is gone. I start reflecting upon what 300 fellow drivers and I just did.

How did we do that? Despite our exhaustion, we collectively decided to help the stranger who needed the time more desperately than we did. We drew on our sympathy (同情心) and intelligence, requiring no directives.

Although I may seem alone stuck on the bridge, I’m connected to all the other drivers. Together we could make the impossible possible.

Now, I’ve talked much about education. I’ve talked about teacher’s responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you act correctly, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most committed teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in (投入) the hard work that leads us to succeed. That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

And no matter what you want to do with your life. I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

That’s okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. J. K. Rowling’s who wrote Harry Potter- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s why I succeed.”

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

A long time ago, there was a seed and because it was only a seed, nobody noticed it. Thus, feeling inferior (低级的), the seed gave no importance to his existence (存在).

Then one day, a wind picked him up and threw him on an open field under the sun. Later, he was given rain. Years later he saw a traveler sitting by his side. "Thank you God for this. I really needed some rest," he heard the traveler say.

"What are you talking about?" the seed quickly asked. He thought the man was making fun of him. No one ever spoke to him like that.

"Who just spoke?" the shocked man asked.

"It is me. A seed."

"A seed?" The man looked at the big tree. "Are you joking? You are not a seed. You are a big tree!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Why else do you think people come here?"

"What do they come here for?"

"To feel your shade (树阴)! Don’t tell me you didn’t know you had grown over time."

A moment passed before the traveler’s words brought him pride.

The seed thought and smiled for the first time in his life. The years of torture (折磨) by the sun and the rain finally helped him grow up.

"Oh! That means I’m not a little seed anymore! I was actually born to make people feel comfortable. Wow! That’s great!"