Kati Marton, the Hungarian-American journalist and human rights advocate, delivered a deeply personal commencement address at Central European University in Budapest in 2011. She shared lessons learned alongside her late husband, the legendary diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who had died just months earlier. Quoting Mark Twain's observation that 'there's no sadder sight than a young pessimist,' Marton urged graduates to reject cynicism. She spoke from authority — having witnessed firsthand how Holbrooke's relentless optimism and determination broke the deadly siege of Sarajevo and pushed the UN Security Council to address the global AIDS epidemic. Her message was that the audacity of determination, not pessimism, changes the world.