教师代表：于书明William

亲爱的老师、家长、同学们，大家好，

非常高兴能够在这里迎接大家的回归。

最近我读到一句话：人生的唯一竞赛，就是比谁先找到自己。

也许你们会笑，说“原来老于从暑假回来，就带回了这么一句陈词滥调。”

但先别急，也许你们和我一样，对这句话的理解并不完全。今天，我想借着它，与大家一起开启新学期，或许也能引发一些新思考。

在我看来，当我们说“找到自己”的时候，其实是在回答三个层次的问题：我是谁；我和他人怎样相处；我如何在生命长河中立足。

首先，一个人，从不是一份成绩单或一个微信号，而最终是一次次真实选择构成的集合，是在没有监督也没有掌声时，你依然会去做的那一系列的事。如果你不理解，去问问shake shack创始人、美国餐饮大咖丹尼·梅尔，看他如何从一个人的座位选择、手表佩戴和支持哪支NBA球队，看出这个人究竟是谁。

接下来，是关系。如果我说你明天能中五百万，你又要笑了，三亿分之一嘛。可你算算，在地球七十亿人里，你竟认识在座的某一个人，这才是真正的奇迹。关系从来都是馈赠，但也会是挑战。它会直接、深刻地揭示出：你有什么，你缺什么。如果你不理解，去问问《新世纪福音战士（EVA）》中的真嗣，听听他和他父亲之间的故事。

最后，是生命。从产生到消逝，生命始终在流动之中。让我们做一个简单的估算：你所有的焦虑，有多少是来自于那些你掌控不了的、对未来或过去的想象？其实，生命真正的全部，本都在此时此刻。但有趣的是，每一个此刻的遗憾，都可能在下一个此刻得到修补。如果你不理解，去问问孔夫子，看这位轴心文明的伟大思想者，为何会说“五十而知天命”，说人活过半百，才刚刚能摸索到一些关于世界、关于生命的规律。

于是，我想修正最初的那句话：找到自己，不仅是人生唯一的竞赛，更是一场始终进行的竞赛。如果这是一场马拉松，此时的我距离半程也还很远，你们的父母也正在中途的补给点。

当然，理解自身这场战斗，在每个时代还都有它独特的“隐藏Boss”要打。当你发现自己在拍集体照时总是笑不出来，耳朵里常年塞着各色的有声子弹，为手机充电大于喂自己吃饭，那么，你并不是一个人。以手机为代表的互联网和科技，在让我们活得更好的同时，也正在让我们远离人群，忽视关系，淡忘生命。这不仅是你们，也是我们。

因此，如果学生是最富成长性的角色，那么作为今天的教师代表，我觉得我更本质的身份，并不是站在你们面前的“老师”，而是与你们并肩的“学生”。因为我们每个人终其一生，都在不断寻找自己、发现自己，并尽最大努力，在当下的时代里安放自己。

所以，孩子们，我要由衷地说一句：谢谢你们。新的一年，还需要你我携手，一起继续前行。

2025-26学年，我们来了。谢谢！

Good afternoon, everyone!

I am truly delighted to be here today, welcoming every of you back.

Recently, I came across a line that struck me: “The only competition in our life, is to see who can find themselves first.”

You might laugh, “Well so this is the cliché William brought back from a long summer break.”

But not so fast. Perhaps, like me, you have not fully understood this line. Today, I would like to reflect on it together with you as we open a new semester, and maybe it will also spark something new.

In my view, when we talk about “finding ourselves,” we are actually answering three layers of questions: Who am I? How do I relate to others? And how do I stand firm in the long river of life?

First, a person is never just a resume or a WeChat ID. In the end, a person is the sum of their real choices - what they continue to do even when there is no supervision or applause. If you don’t quite understand, go ask Danny Meyer, the founder of our beloved Shake Shack, a giant in American dining and see how he could say something of who you truly are from the seat you choose, the watch you wear, and even the NBA team you support.

Next, relationships. If I told you that tomorrow you would win five million in the lottery, you would laugh again: one in three hundred million man, right? But think about this: on a planet of seven billion people, you actually know someone sitting here today. That is a real miracle, right? Relationships are always a gift, but also a challenge. They reveal, deeply and directly, what you have and what you lack. If you don’t quite understand, go ask Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion (EVA), and listen to the story of him and his father.

Finally, life. Life is always in motion. Just do a simple calculation: how much of your anxiety comes from the imagination for the future and past that you have absolutely no control over? Yes, all of your real life is right here, in this very moment.

While interestingly, every regret of this moment may be repaired in the next. If you don’t quite understand, go ask Confucius, and see why this one of the greatest thinker of all time will say, "At fifty, I came to know the mandate of Heaven", telling us that only after living half a century did one begin to glimpse some patterns of the world and of life itself.

So, I would like to revise that first line again: finding yourself is not only the one true competition in life, but also a competition that never ends. If it is a marathon, I myself am still far from the halfway mark. Your parents, too, are at the middle stretch, stopping briefly at the supply station.

Of course, this battle of self-understanding also has its unique “hidden boss” in every era. When you find yourself unable to smile in group photos, when your ears are always filled with endless streams of sound, and when charging your phone feels more urgent than feeding yourself - then you are not alone. Symbolized by the Internet and smartphone, technology has indeed made our lives better. But at the same time, it has drawn us away from people, distanced us from relationships, and dulled our sense of life. Not just you - We as well.

Therefore, if a student is the role most full of growth, then as a teacher standing here today, I believe my more essential identity is not simply a teacher in front of you, but also a student just like you and beside you. Because each of us, for our entire lives, is searching, discovering, and striving to find a place in this era.

So, dear students, please let me say thank you. With the new school year of 2025-2026 lying ahead, we must continue hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, to move forward together.

And yes, here we go!

Thank you.

上海宏润博源学校