Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

From the Quotation of the day mailing list, 2005-06-18:

My dad was also worried about my blowing the speech, so with retired scientist precision he drafted it for me on a napkin. . . . Quote Goethe, praise David Baltimore, end with something vaguely uplifting like "Dare to dream". . . and above all, my dad said: "It's commencement. Don't 'try' to be 'funny.'"

And at that moment, the light bulb went on. I remembered the one thing that freed me, post-Caltech-- And I believe can free you. . . . The advice being not "Dare to dream"-- Every young person dares to dream-frankly, it's all they do all day! But many bright young people, under their A student masks, also harbor a secret passion. . . And the key to releasing that last exotic bird to flight is not "Dare to Dream," but, listen carefully, "Dare. . . to disappoint. . . your father."

-- Sandra Tsing Loh, 1983 Caltech graduate, and 2005 commencement speaker.

(submitted to the mailing list by Jeffrey L. Copeland)