Speech

While doing new things is difficult, it is far from impossible.

Turn toward the problems you see.

Either way, what we do matters. What we do affects the outcome.

The real danger is all that smoke that's been blown up your graduation gowns about how freaking smart you are. Well, you are that smart, but don't believe the hype.

Today is not the day you switch from receive to transmit. Once you do that, your education is over. And your education should never be over.

Our greatness has never, ever come from sitting back and feeling entitled to what we have. It's never come from folks who climb the ladder of success, or who happen to be born near the top and then pull that ladder up after themselves. No, our greatness has always come from people who expect nothing and take nothing for granted.

Your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.

I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters — two beautiful, black young women — head off to school, waving goodbye to their father, the President of the United States.

They seem to view our diversity as a threat to be contained rather than as a resource to be tapped. They tell us to be afraid of those who are different, to be suspicious of those with whom we disagree.

When you hear someone longing for the 'good old days,' take it with a grain of salt. The 'good old days' weren't that great.

In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It's not cool to not know what you're talking about. That's not keeping it real, or telling it like it is. That's just not knowing what you're talking about.

The world is more interconnected than ever before, and it's becoming more connected every day. Building walls won't change that.