America's Dreams
Barack Obama on
Change as the Inevitable Engine of Progress
"You're all sitting here because in each of you, someone saw a spark. It's a spark that goes deeper than tests and grades, varsity letters and service awards. It's the spark that keeps each of you asking the questions, what if, why, and why not? The one that keeps you always searching for answers to those questions. The one that makes you say, 'I don't have to be content with the present, because I have a role in changing the future.' What each of you has is the desire to learn not just for the next test or even the next diploma, but to learn for the sake of learning. To constantly look around your world and seek new ways to improve it. To embrace change as the inevitable engine of progress."
May 7, 2005. Rockford Register Star Young American Awards
