Bill Gates

(It's 10pm on Sunday evening -- I finally got sometime to sit down, do laundry, listen to some music, read TIME, and write some random stuff...)

"Dad, I always told you I’d come back and get my degree."

Bill Gates gave a speech at the Harvard Commencement last Thur (and received an honorary degree). It was a great talk. He talked about his experience at Harvard, how he dropped out during his junior years and founded Microsoft, and his current and ongoing endeavor in helping the poor and in need, and to "solve inequity". As a firm believer in capitalism, he argued that we should create market forces which would drive people to saving lives:

"We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities."

Those are really great points (and coincidentally, that was exactly what my favorite econ professor David Hemenway said), and it's great to have someone as smart and rich to stand out and speak out for those whose voice are otherwise unheard. However, those are not the words that really touched my heart. As someone who has yet to develop his professional career, I found Bill Gate's words on Harvard experience to be more inspiring:

"What I remember above all about Harvard was being in the midst of so much energy and intelligence."

which leads to:

"Members of the Harvard Family: Here in the Yard is one of the great collections of intellectual talent in the world.

What for?"

Yes, what for?

"When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us."

One might find the above actually matches well with the central dogma in Spidey movies. But seriously...there were times in which I would ponder: What really is it that make me unique? After all, nature and nurture, talent and educational resources, are all given by my parents. Then what really is it that make it worthwhile?

Sometimes it's easier to look at other people to learn what you really think.

I have always admire/respect people who spend more time thinking about how to fulfill their dreams than how to earn a living easily, who are passionate and ambitious, who are not afraid to throw themselves in the deep end and try to figure out a way to not drown.

And I think my answer lies in these qualities.