466 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Choices and Change
Barbara Bush
1 Thank you very, very much, President Keohane; Mrs. Gorbachev; trustees; faculty; par-
ents; and, I should say, Julia Porter, class president; and certainly my new best friend, Christine
Bicknell. And, of course, the Class of 1990. I’m really thrilled to be here today and very excited,
as I know all of you must be, that Mrs. Gorbachev could join us. These, these are exciting times.
They’re exciting in Washington, and I had really looked forward to coming to Wellesley. I thought
it was gonna be fun; I never dreamt it would be this much fun. So thank you for that.
2 More than ten years ago, when I was invited here to talk about our experiences in the
People’s Republic of China, I was struck by both the natural beauty of your campus and the spirit
of this place.
3 Wellesley, you see, is not just a place, but an idea—an experiment in excellence in which
diversity is not just tolerated but is embraced.
6 Now, this little girl knew what she was, and she was not about to give up on either her
identity or the game. She intended to take her place wherever mermaids fit into the scheme of
things. Where do the mermaids stand—all of those who are different, those who do not fit the
boxes and the pigeonholes? “Answer that question,” wrote Fulghum, “and you can build a school,
a nation, or a whole world.”
7 As that very wise young woman said, “Diversity, like anything worth having, requires ef-
fort.” Effort to learn about and respect difference, to be compassionate with one another, to cher-
ish our own identity, and to accept unconditionally the same in others. You should all be very
proud that this is the Wellesley spirit.
8 Now, I know your first choice today was Alice Walker—guess how I know!—known for
The Color Purple. Instead you got me—known for the color of my hair. Alice Walker’s book has
a special resonance here. At Wellesley, each class is known by a special color. For four years the
CHOICES AND CHANGE 467
class of ’90 has worn the color purple. Today you meet on Severance Green to say goodbye to all
of that, to begin a new and a very personal journey to search for your own true colors.
9 In the world that awaits you beyond the shores of Lake Waban, no one can say what your
true colors will be. But this I do know: You have a first-class education from a first-class school.
And so you need not, probably cannot, live a paint-by-numbers life. Decisions are not irrevocable.
Choices do come back. And as you set off from Wellesley, I hope that many of you will consider
making three very special choices.
12 One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life—to marry George
Bush—is because he made me laugh. It’s true, sometimes we’ve laughed through our tears, but
that shared laughter has been one of our strongest bonds. Find the joy in life because, as Ferris
Bueller said on his day off, “Life moves pretty fast, and [if] you don’t stop and look around once
in a while, you’re gonna miss it.” (I’m not gonna tell George you clapped more for Ferris than
you clapped for George!)
13 The third choice that must not be missed is to cherish your human connections, your rela-
tionships with family and friends. For several years you’ve had impressed upon you the im-
portance to your career of dedication and hard work—and, of course, that’s true. But as important
as your obligations as a doctor, a lawyer, a business leader will be, you are a human being first,
and those human connections—with spouses, with children, with friends—are the most important
investment you will ever make.
14 At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning
one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a
child, a friend, or a parent.
15 We are in a transitional period right now. We are in a transitional period right now, fasci-
nating and exhilarating times, learning to adjust to changes and the choices we—men and women—
are facing. As an example, I remember what a friend said on hearing her husband complain to his
468 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
17 For over fifty years, it was said that the winner of Wellesley’s annual hoop race would be
the first to get married. Now they say the winner will be the first to become a CEO. Both of those
stereotypes show too little tolerance for those who want to know where the mermaids stand. So,
so I want to offer a new legend: The winner of the hoop race will be the first to realize her dream.
Not society’s dreams—her own personal dream. And who knows? Somewhere out in this audi-
CHOICES AND CHANGE 469
Choices and Change
by Barbara Bush
Commentary
Barbara Bush’s commencement address at Wellesley College on June 1, 1990, is considered a classic.
Bush was invited to speak by the senior class when their first choice, Alice Walker, author of The Color
Purple, could not attend. In protest, 150 Wellesley seniors—about one–fourth of the graduating class—
signed a petition charging that Bush was not a good role model for career–oriented students at a wom-
en’s college and has been chosen because of the man she married rather than for her own achieve-
ments.
Here is a synopsis of the speech.
Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraph 1, in which Bush acknowledges other dignitaries
as well as members of her audience. Christine Bicknell, whom Bush calls her “new best friend,”
was the student speaker who had preceded her on the podium.
Body: The body runs from paragraph 2 through paragraph 17 and contains two main points. The first is
developed in paragraphs 2–7. In this section of the speech, Bush praises Wellesley’s commit-
ment to diversity, but she does not define diversity in racial, ethnic, or sexual terms. Rather, she
characterizes it in general terms as requiring the effort “to learn about and respect difference, to
470 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
As Bush develops this point in paragraphs 9–17, she urges her listeners to make three
choices—to get involved in major social issues (paragraph 10), to keep in mind that life is sup-
posed to be fun (paragraphs 11–12), and to cherish their human relationships with family and
friends (paragraphs 13–16). Bush spends most of her time on the third choice, and in doing so
presents a number of lines that were widely quoted afterward by commentators on the speech.
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