I'll leave you with three quick pieces of advice.

First, don't be afraid.

America has gone through tough times before,

slavery, civil war, famine, disease,

the Great depression, and 911.

And each time, we came out stronger,

usually because a new generation, young people like you,

learn from past mistakes

and figured out how to make things better.

Second, do what you think is right.

Doing what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy,

that's how little kids think.

Unfortunately a lot of so called grown ups,

including some with fancy titles and important jobs,

still think that way, which is why things are so screwed up.

I hope that instead you decide to groud yourself values that last

Like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness,

generosity, respect for others.

You won't get it right every time.

You'll make mistakes like we all

But if you listen to the truth that's inside yourself,

even when it's hard,

even when it's inconvenient,

people will notice, they'll gravitate towards you.


And you'll be part of solution instead of part of the problem.

And finally, build the community.

No one does big things by themselves.

Right now, when people are scared,

It's easy to be cynical and say,

let me just look out for myself,

or my family or people who look or think or pray like me.

But if we're gonna get through these difficult times,

If we're gonna create a world

where everybody has opportunity

to find a job and afford collage,

If we're gonna save the environment, and defeat future pandemics

then we're gonna have to do it together.

——Barack Hussein Obama II