If the Dream is Big Enough
为了心中的梦想
I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all. I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to sTOP her but no one could. I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again. Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.
我以前常常从厨房的窗户看到她穿梭于操场上的一群男生中间，她看上去那样矮小。学校在我家的街对面，我可以常常看到小孩们在下课时间打球。尽管有一大群的小孩，但我感觉她跟其他的小孩完全不同。我记得第一天看到她打篮球的情景。看着她在其他小孩旁边兜来转去，我感到十分惊奇。她一直尽力地跳起投篮，球恰好越过那些小孩的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男生一直拼命地阻止她，但无人可以做得到。我开始注意到她有时一个人打球。她一遍遍地训练运球和投篮，有时直到天黑。有一天我问她为何这么刻苦地训练。她直视着我的双眼，不加思索地说:“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才能上大学。我喜欢打篮球， 我想只须我打得好，我就能获得奖学金。我要到大学去打篮球。我想成为最棒的球员。我父亲告诉我说，心中有目的，风雨不折腰。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场，又开始我之前见过的一遍又一遍的训练。 嘿，我服了她了——她是下定了决心了。我看着她这类年从初中升到高中。每一个星期，她带领的学校篮球代表队都可以获胜。
One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” came a soft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5’5” she would probably never get to play for a TOP ranked team— much less offered a scholarship—so she should sTOP dreaming about college. She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could sTOP her except one thing — her own attitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division 1, NCAA women’s basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.
高中那会儿的某一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。我穿过街道，坐到她旁边的清凉的草地上。我轻轻地问出啥事了。“哦，没什么，”她轻声回答，“只不过我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她几乎是没机会到先进的球队去打球的——更不需要说会获得奖学金了——所以她应该舍弃想上大学的梦想。她非常伤心，我也感觉我们的喉咙发紧，由于我感觉到了她的失望。我问她是不是与她的父亲谈过这件事。她从臂弯里抬起头，告诉我，她父亲说那些教练错了。他们根本不会梦想的力量。他告诉她，假如真的想到一个好的大学去打篮球，假如她真的想获得奖学金，任何东西也不可以阻止她，除非她自己不想。他又一次跟她说：“心中有目的，风雨不折腰。”第二年，当她和她的球队去参加北加利福尼亚州冠军赛时，她被一位大学的招生职员看中了。她真的获得了奖学金，一个全方位资助的奖学金，并且进入美国全国大学体育协会其中一队女子甲组篮球队。她将同意她曾梦想并为之奋斗多年的大学教育。
It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.
是的，心中有目的，风雨不折腰。
