April 6, 2005, Greencastle, Ind. - "It's not about Harvard, it's not about a prestigious school," says Liz Murray of her incredible and uplifting life story, which she shared with an audience at DePauw University tonight. "It's not about that. It's about learning, about educating yourself and gathering enough knowledge to find your way through any little crack or crevice you possibly can so you can move up and escape from that trap you were born into."
The 24-year-old Murray, who went from living on the streets of New York City to winning a scholarship to Harvard University, delivered The Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture, "Homeless to Harvard: A Remarkable Journey," in Kresge Auditorium of DePauw's Performing Arts Center. Working without notes and addressing her audience from the edge of the stage, Murray detailed how she was born to drug-addicted parents, and how as a child, living in squalor, her parents and everyone she knew was living month-to-month on government checks.
"I didn't even know that people worked when I was younger, 'cause you have to think about -- what does a kid seeing when they're little. I saw that people cashed welfare checks... they were happy to see the mailman, he was like Santa Claus or something or some celebrity -- and we'd go to the check cashing store and there would be a line wrapped around the block for an hour-and-a-half" on the days checks arrived, she remembered. Her parents would spend the bulk of the money on drugs; about $30 a month was all the family of four spent on food, and Murray's parents would go without food for several days at a time.
Despite the tumultous environment in which she was raised, Murray says she has always loved her parents. Her life, already in disarray, unraveled quickly when her mother was diagnosed with HIV. Her mother moved out, her father went to a homeless shelter, and Murray, then a young teen, was sent to a group home. Her unpleasant experiences there led her to run away and she lived on the streets of New York City, eating out of dumpsters and sleeping at friends' houses or on subway trains, but in her own words, "going nowhere." The year Murray turned 16, her mother died, and her view of life changed. "I got the sense that my life was in my own hands," she told her DePauw audience. "And I knew that already, but it's different when a parent dies; maybe some of you know what I mean. You look around and strangers become more strange, big institutional buildings look scarier, everything looks more alien, nothing is friendly. There's no person to think about yourself through. It truly is yourself in the world, and that's it. I realized my own isolation and I realized there never would be somebody to kind of filter me in the world. And I went back with my friends, and without having her to think about anymore -- I mean I did, but not the same way -- I sat with them and I realized that I had been falsely relying on my friends. I realized that, at the end of the day, whatever I did or did not do with my life would stick to me, even if I hung out with them."
Murray, whose story is chronicled in the Lifetime Emmy-nominated movie, From Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, enrolled in an alternative high school at age 17; when most of the people her age were graduating, she was starting. Guided by an understanding teacher/mentor and fueled by a desire to make something of her life, Murray finished high school in two years while still sleeping where she could find a place to lay her head at night. When she visited Harvard on a school trip, a seed was planted. Murray applied for a New York Times scholarship and was one of six students selected out of the thousands of applicants. A story profiling the scholarship winners was published on the cover of the Times' metro section.
"I really didn't understand the power of the media before that, but I found out," Murray said with a chuckle. "You know [that] New Yorkers have this reputation for being really cold, right? Well, the readers of the newspaper came out of their houses around [the school] and brought me sweaters and clothing their kids weren't using anymore. Some lady came just to give me a hug! Another came just with some cookies, then she said to me, 'I don't have any money, Liz, but I have a stationwagon and a house. Do you have any laundry?,' she asked me. 'I just want to do your laundry.'"
Murray's story was featured on ABC's 20/20 and she was a guest of Oprah Winfrey, becoming the first recipient of the talk show host's Chutzpah Award. Murray transferred from Harvard to Columbia University to be closer to her father, who is ill. She had been studying film, but after talking about her experiences in front of audiences around the nation and the world over the past few years, [Download Audio: "Reaching Out" - 175kb] "My interests broadened because I realize that I have certain insights based on what had happened to me, and I had this opportunity to share with people and go back-and-forth and maybe draw some meaning out of it." She now has her sights set on a masters degree in sociology and psychology hoping to "understand what creates motivation in a human being and how to apply that in society. Is there a way to create upward mobility? Is there a way to break class differences?," she asked. Murray's ultimate goal is to create a coaching and seminar company that will work with groups, perhaps specializing in inner-city schools. [Download Audio: "The Future" - 66kb] "Instead of just speaking about my life, I want that to be a footnote, and I want to offer strategies to people."
你只是一粒尘埃，
就算你消失了，
地球仍然转动。
现实是不会按照你的意志去改变的，
因为别人的意志更强些。
生活的残酷会让人不知所措，
于是有人终日沉浸在彷徨迷茫之中，
不愿意睁大双眼看清形势，
不愿去想是哪些细小的因素累积起来，
造成了这样的局面。
为什么不能是我这种人？
他们有什么特别之处？
是因为他们的出身？
我尽力拼搏，
不让自己沦落到社会底层。
如果，如果我更加努力呢？
我现在离那层膜很近，触手可及，
（老师：这需要努力，但不是不可能。）
我希望能和别人平起平坐，而不是低人一等。
我希望能去哈佛，接受良好教育，读遍所有好书，
于是，我情不自禁的想，
我是不是该发挥自己的每一分潜力呢？
——我必须成功，别无选择。
每天起床，我看见的世界上的每个人，
都好像都披著一层膜，无法穿透。
这种感觉很奇怪，有点悲哀，可是没有办法改变。
这些人的动作举止，为什麼这麼不一样？
是不是因为，他们来的世界就是这麼不一样？
若是这样，那我要更努力、更努力，把我自己推到那个世界去。
这是一个很好的电影，根据真实事件改编。利兹的父母都是瘾君子，母亲患了精神分裂症，双眼失明、后来死于AIDS。利兹的生活颠沛流离：住过收容所，睡过地铁站，捡拾垃圾......从来没有一个像样的家的她，青少年的岁月多半是在慌乱的流浪中度过的。偶尔，她还要扮演大人的角色，回去照顾她的爸妈和姊姊，多少次，她流泪坐在妈妈的病床前面。她身便的人，多半是遭遇不幸的人。同儕暴力、性虐待和精神疾病。一日复一日，她活在一个沒有希望和梦想的世界裡。母亲去世时，她跑到大厦的楼顶，在天空飘下的雨中无助地抽泣。母亲下葬，没有牧师没有仪式，待寥寥数人散去，她静静地躺在母亲的棺木上，低声诉说过往的点点滴滴……
利兹真的凭借着这份自己的毅力和坚持考上了哈佛大学。为了支付哈佛昂贵的学费，她找遍了所有的奖学金资讯。面試的那天，她连一件像样的衣服都沒有，穿着一件破烂衣服，罩上一件向姊姊借來的大衣勉強充场面。果然，她得到了那笔奖学金，进了哈佛。
领奖致辞的那天，她说，她的生命就在那一刻，永远的改变。Liz Murray，一个最贫穷，也最勇敢的哈佛女孩。在哈佛金色的秋天里，女孩仰起脸，眼睛里是坚毅的光。
利兹1980年生人，这部电影拍摄于2003年，后来利兹发现哈佛不适合她，转到哥伦比亚大学去了。
这一切的取得，除了利兹自己的努力之外，跟她的伯乐戴维老师也很有关系，一个最小的例子就是刚才那个场景下课以后利兹有点不满意只得A－的作业，因此去找戴维老师，下面的细节体现了戴维的良苦用心，很感动。
戴维老师：嘿，新来的同学
利兹：（有点抱怨）你批准我入校的，却不记得我的名字
戴维老师：我记得你的名字，我只是想让其他人站到你一边。
利兹：你很聪明
戴维：你也是
利兹：（鼓起勇气）你给我一个A－
戴维老师：是的，我认为写的不错
利兹：我怎么办才能得到A？
戴维老师：利兹，A－是个非常高的分数，在怎么说这也是你第一次学校作业
利兹：（顿了顿）如果我写的话管用的话，我希望你能帮我改正它。（把作业递给戴维）
戴维：（赞许的咧咧嘴）好吧......
(戴维开始给利兹指点作业)
其实这里利兹的表现也很值得学习。我总是很愿意留心细节，留心这个如此不幸（母亲吸毒死于爱滋，父亲在收容所）的一无所有的无家可归的流浪女孩究竟做了哪些努力，让她只上过两三年学就可以考入人人艳羡的哈佛大学，也许又好多小事，都只是坚持，坚持一个信念，坚持一个梦想。
电影中很多细节都很让人感动，有些台词真的棒，也许这是真的发生过。比方说，利兹在课堂上关于教材问题的讨论就很吸引人。
背景：课堂讨论，同学们抱怨总发活页容易弄丢，质疑为什么不发教科书
戴维老师：嗯，教科书，为什么不发教科书？谁知道
女孩A：太重了？
戴维老师：（否定的象声词 ）卟兹～～，是的，但是不能给雪茄糖（雪茄糖是对好的课堂发言的奖励）
女孩B：它们太贵了，学校负担不了。
戴维老师：（否定的象声词）卟兹～～，我今天要自己留着雪茄糖了。
（指向利兹）你，新来的同学
女孩C：（打抱不平的）她叫利兹
男孩D：（补充）噢，天哪，戴维，她都来一周了，你还记不住她的名字
戴维老师：（耍赖的）利兹，到法院告我吧。
（丢给利兹一本厚厚的教科书，利兹翻开封面）教科书，教科...书,
(利兹从头开始翻)打开，里面说什么？
利兹：单词
（大家笑）
戴维老师：（开始引导）什么样的词？
利兹：（刚翻到前言）作者的话
（大家又笑）
戴维老师：不，不，这很重要，我手上拿的是什么？（指发给同学们的活页）
利兹：（开始反应过来）许多其他人的话
戴维老师：为什么我要发给你们？
利兹：（明白了）因为一种观点给你一方面的见解，（合上教科书，往前推了推）
戴维老师：（很开心，但未表现出来，给利兹丢雪茄糖，丢了一个又一个）雪茄糖，雪茄糖，“商业记号”（刚才课堂讨论的话题），卖给我泡泡糖的人，雪茄糖！为什么我们只能看他一个人的故事？（在同学边巡视，走到利兹身边，看着大家，用手指指着教科书，放慢语速强调）
男孩B:（质疑）但是那不是记载着官方历史么？
戴维老师：不，（对利兹说）孩子，告诉他什么是历史？
利兹：历史是，（停顿），我们全体，我们全体都算
戴维老师：（看着利兹，颔首）
下课铃声响。
我们都是普通人，但可以让自己的生活不普通。
很多人很喜欢励志影片，因为看到别人的故事，看到曾经的自己，只不过通常的结果没有别人那么辉煌。但是，每个人都可以有Liz那么了不起。她几乎不去学校上课，一个月去3次都不到，但就像那场戏一样，不让老师拿走试卷，仍坚持要做那份语文题，她说：“不，我要做，看起来没有那么难”。人，总要追求一些东西，而这些追求真的没有你以为的那么难，最难的是怎么让自己不要以为它难、以及迈出第一步。
很多成功人士总结自己的过去都爱说：
“我并不是一个天资聪颖的人.....”，没错，我们都是普通人；
“我只不过一直在……”，嗯，再小的事情坚持下来也不小；
“爱因斯坦也要付出很多努力”，嗯，没有人能随随便便成功，但我们确实可以让自己不普通。
Liz那份试卷答了满分，老师问她怎么做到的。
Liz：“我读了很多书。”
老师：“你读了些什么？”
Liz：百科全书。我楼上的伊瓦女士，她找到了一些书，但是没有R-S部分，如果你问R-S部分的话我肯定什么都答不上来，我只不过是比较运气罢了。
嗯，他们确实都很爱说只是运气好而已，其实也不是那么简单，很多人，其实运气好的人看过利兹说的那本书，也未必能答上正确的答案。
如果你了解那些成功的人士，和他们交谈过，或者听过看过他们交谈，你会发现，他们习惯把这些所谓的成功看的理所当然。也是，这真的只是坚持不懈地付出一些努力而已，只要目标正确，水滴石穿，只是时间问题而已，任何有着正常智力的人都可以做到。那些成功人士，只是把那些不容易达到的小事坚持做了下来，集腋成裘，就是了不起。
我记得去年有一阵子到处都在热评北师大在读本科生吴盈盈做了某跨国公司的CEO，其实她个人素质确实很强，参加过那么多比赛、去斯坦福作访问学生，口才、外语不用说，从小到大搞了那么多年竞赛，领导建模大赛，专业能力不用说。虽然这件事确实有炒作和树典型的因素，但那个公司在北京只能算作是办事处而已，两个人的公司做CEO，有这些能力也够了。关键是众人习惯诟病她的能力、资历、包括以前的证书和专利，并没有那么强。没错，她确实没有你以为的那么强，她是个普通人。就拿那个专利字典来说，我们现在看能把字典剪出条带状作标记不觉得稀奇，是因为我们现在有看到市场上都在卖这种字典，但让你自己拿起剪刀，独立剪出一本实用的速查字典有那么容易么？条带不能太多，太多等于没有，也不能太少，太少就不能起到检索的作用，标签的写法也有说道，写太多了放不下。或者换个角度，如果想想：这个专利是十年前、一个小学生、在没人帮助和指导下、凭借兴趣、坚持、做出来的成果、还申请了专利，这就是一个非常了不起的成就！分解来看，确实哪个也不稀奇，但合起来，没有几个人做到。那些已经成功的人觉得自己的成功理所当然也是这个道理。或者说，他们最成功之处，在于一直坚持大家都不愿坚持的小事。
古人云：“万事开头难。”
古人又云：“好的开始是成功的一半。”
一件事情，坚持三次，到第三次，一定成功。这话很有道理。
感谢Inurice和子非鱼
这本书叫《Breaking night》，中文版也已经出版了，是中信出版社的，名字叫《风雨哈佛路》
豆瓣地址在这里 http://book.douban.com/subject/5408860/
英文原版在这里 http://book.douban.com/subject/2046288/
女主角不耻于提到家庭，是因为自己已经是裸体上街，没有啥可掩盖与粉饰的了。
通常情况下，一般人到了这一步，基本上只能保证生存，顾不上礼义廉耻了。
这只是通常情况下，但是某些早早成熟，天赋异禀的能人猛士，就是超脱在通常情况下，超脱于一般人以外。
这部片子是老片，从我高中老师推荐时候看起，断断续续，片片断断的看了5、6遍有余。刚开始的时候用来励志，渐渐的变成了发泄情绪的一个渠道。有点像自己心里不痛快的时候，看看有人确实过得比自己还惨，而且最后经过些波折也雨过天晴，郁闷感顿时全消。
前几天看这片子，忽然觉得有些新的感悟，跳出乌鸦变凤凰的局限，我忽然觉得，我已经不再把这电影单纯的看作一部励志小电影了，虽然，它其实只有这个功效。
世界上有两种人能成大事，出身特好和出身特别不好的。
出身特好的资源丰富，人脉广阔，但凡不是阿斗，有些自尊心自信心，比芸芸众生更容易成事一些，更何况有经验丰富的老子打了前阵，没有基础，光是听老一辈革命先烈讲讲故事，也能站好一班岗。
出身特不好的，羞耻于自己的出身，比别人更有成功的欲望，成事的决心。由于资源的匮乏，只能比别人更加努力更加拼命更加忽视一切情情爱爱、休闲娱乐，而拼命的在匮乏的大环境中汲取养分。就好像沙漠中的沙棘，只有靠不断努力伸长的根须广布在贫瘠的沙土里，才能维持自己的生存。久而久之，你会发现，沙棘的根须已经遍布了整片沙漠。
而处在中段的各位亲，可能更多的生存在地球的底层。每天想着怎么发财，但每天仍旧按部就班的生活，亦或是生存。拿着不同不痒的工资，实际上背负着全天下最高额的赋税。如果没有虏妻杀子的恶势找上头来，恐怕一辈子一个P也不会放。如果有人问起最近过得怎么样，回答得最多便是：“还行。”
嗯，确实还行。能活着，但不能说活得多好。
有一个朋友分期付款念完的中专，还是夜校。学的计算机维修。现在在南方一家500强做总监。早期，朋友问他家里情况，他总是耻于回答。现在，他倒是坦然应答，说当初我要是跟你们详细描述，你们肯定当我要借钱所以哭穷呢。其实，我家真就那么穷。我怎么好意思开口。
现在每每想起这个朋友，再加上多年的所见所闻。很多年轻企业家的崛起都和不安于现状有关。而往往他们的现状跟一般人的现状不同。那不是生存质量优劣的区别，那是生与死的区别。
如若当时问起他们过得怎样，是绝对答不出“还行”的。
那一小撮人，抱着最强大的羞耻心要摆脱现状，摆脱自己的困境，如同溺水的人一样，要浮上水面，吸一口空气。他们羞耻于自己的家庭，自己的出身，更大的是羞耻于自己的无知。所以他们拚的比别人狠，干的比别人卖力，甚至有些变态，有些畸形。甚至人格有些不健全，但是，很显然，这样做是有成绩的。
这样的积累，让他们从羞于谈论自己的境况，飞跃到不屑于用“还行”来回答“最近过得如何”。
他的话好像掉落到地上
这又不是真实的世界
我们只活在互相的心底
他就住在我心底 但是我却没有地方去
我在世界上单独一个人
失去了所有的关系 消磨了所有的欢迎
每一个曾经相信我的人 我都让他们失望了
我不想做个傻瓜 我要去上学
（眼底萌生的战栗 充满了敌意 那是因为真实的恐惧）
我只是需要一次机会
需要一次机会爬出那个环境
个人我认识的人都是愤怒 疲惫
他们只是挣扎着活下去
但我知道有一个世界 更好的世界
我妈妈去世了
感觉好像被打了几巴掌
我猜我老是以为她会好转的 会照顾我
很蠢是吧？
她从来都没有照顾我
是我在照顾她
她是我的孩子
但现在她不在了
就是这样
现在是时候你照顾你自己了
我会永远活下去的
丽丝 他们也只是人
不 不是人 像我这种
为什么不是我？
什么让他们与众不同
这是一种渴望 不是不可能
我想和人们站在一块儿 不想在他们之下
人们会久久围困于自己的失败之中
我们称之为愤怒 对事物的整体视而不见
对于所有能够成功的微小元素以及什么是成功视而不见
因为我的父母迫使我们向深处里观察
我有幸看到微小的事务是如何最终聚集在一起，最终形成产物的
所以我从来不问为什么这样 为什么那样
我知道为什么
我爱我的妈妈
她吸毒 酗酒 几乎失明 精神分裂
虽然 她总是这样 总是这样 总是这样……
我爱她 我是确实爱她
你怎么做到呢？
我怎么能不这么做呢？
你为你自己的过去感到悲伤么？
你是指？
我是说在地铁里睡觉 吃垃圾桶里的食物
嗯 那毕竟是我人生的一部分 这也算是一种幸运 幸运的让我被迫往前看 没有后路
我只能往前看 到达了一种状态“好吧 我要尽我所能的工作 看看会发生什么”
然后现在我要上大学了 是《纽约时报》给我出钱
（台下掌声夹杂着释然的大笑……但记者仍不放过）
所以说 你是幸运的 那你要是能改变什么 你会怎么做？
耶 我愿意把所有的后来的幸运还回去 让我的家庭复原
——《风雨哈佛路》台词
刚才看完Murray April 6, 2005 在DePauw University的演讲~她的坚强 乐观 让我感慨并会一直记忆犹新
Liz Murray在DePauw University的演讲实录
April 6, 2005, Greencastle, Ind. - "It's not about Harvard, it's not about a prestigious school," says Liz Murray of her incredible and uplifting life story, which she shared with an audience at DePauw University tonight. "It's not about that. It's about learning, about educating yourself and gathering enough knowledge to find your way through any little crack or crevice you possibly can so you can move up and escape from that trap you were born into."
The 24-year-old Murray, who went from living on the streets of New York City to winning a scholarship to Harvard University, delivered The Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture, "Homeless to Harvard: A Remarkable Journey," in Kresge Auditorium of DePauw's Performing Arts Center. Working without notes and addressing her audience from the edge of the stage, Murray detailed how she was born to drug-addicted parents, and how as a child, living in squalor, her parents and everyone she knew was living month-to-month on government checks.
"I didn't even know that people worked when I was younger, 'cause you have to think about -- what does a kid seeing when they're little. I saw that people cashed welfare checks... they were happy to see the mailman, he was like Santa Claus or something or some celebrity -- and we'd go to the check cashing store and there would be a line wrapped around the block for an hour-and-a-half" on the days checks arrived, she remembered. Her parents would spend the bulk of the money on drugs; about $30 a month was all the family of four spent on food, and Murray's parents would go without food for several days at a time.
Despite the tumultous environment in which she was raised, Murray says she has always loved her parents. Her life, already in disarray, unraveled quickly when her mother was diagnosed with HIV. Her mother moved out, her father went to a homeless shelter, and Murray, then a young teen, was sent to a group home. Her unpleasant experiences there led her to run away and she lived on the streets of New York City, eating out of dumpsters and sleeping at friends' houses or on subway trains, but in her own words, "going nowhere." The year Murray turned 16, her mother died, and her view of life changed.
"I got the sense that my life was in my own hands," she told her DePauw audience. "And I knew that already, but it's different when a parent dies; maybe some of you know what I mean. You look around and strangers become more strange, big institutional buildings look scarier, everything looks more alien, nothing is friendly. There's no person to think about yourself through. It truly is yourself in the world, and that's it. I realized my own isolation and I realized there never would be somebody to kind of filter me in the world. And I went back with my friends, and without having her to think about anymore -- I mean I did, but not the same way -- I sat with them and I realized that I had been falsely relying on my friends. I realized that, at the end of the day, whatever I did or did not do with my life would stick to me, even if I hung out with them."
Murray, whose story is chronicled in the Lifetime Emmy-nominated movie, From Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, enrolled in an alternative high school at age 17; when most of the people her age were graduating, she was starting. Guided by an understanding teacher/mentor and fueled by a desire to make something of her life, Murray finished high school in two years while still sleeping where she could find a place to lay her head at night. When she visited Harvard on a school trip, a seed was planted. Murray applied for a New York Times scholarship and was one of six students selected out of the thousands of applicants. A story profiling the scholarship winners was published on the cover of the Times' metro section.
"I really didn't understand the power of the media before that, but I found out," Murray said with a chuckle. "You know [that] New Yorkers have this reputation for being really cold, right? Well, the readers of the newspaper came out of their houses around [the school] and brought me sweaters and clothing their kids weren't using anymore. Some lady came just to give me a hug! Another came just with some cookies, then she said to me, 'I don't have any money, Liz, but I have a stationwagon and a house. Do you have any laundry?,' she asked me. 'I just want to do your laundry.'"
Murray's story was featured on ABC's 20/20 and she was a guest of Oprah Winfrey, becoming the first recipient of the talk show host's Chutzpah Award. Murray transferred from Harvard to Columbia University to be closer to her father, who is ill. She had been studying film, but after talking about her experiences in front of audiences around the nation and the world over the past few years, [Download Audio: "Reaching Out" - 175kb] "My interests broadened because I realize that I have certain insights based on what had happened to me, and I had this opportunity to share with people and go back-and-forth and maybe draw some meaning out of it." She now has her sights set on a masters degree in sociology and psychology hoping to "understand what creates motivation in a human being and how to apply that in society. Is there a way to create upward mobility? Is there a way to break class differences?," she asked. Murray's ultimate goal is to create a coaching and seminar company that will work with groups, perhaps specializing in inner-city schools. [Download Audio: "The Future" - 66kb] "Instead of just speaking about my life, I want that to be a footnote, and I want to offer strategies to people."