永不言棄

楊夢迪等

Icannot remember a point in my life when I desired anything other than becoming a teacher. As a child， I played school with my little cousins and friends just so I could practice for my future career. But what I didnt realize as a child was how expensive my dream was. I came from a middle class family， and it seemed so out of reach， but I wasnt willing to settle for anything less.

In the beginning of my senior year in high school， I began applying to colleges， but in my heart I had already made my decision. The University of Connecticut was the one. But a huge hurdle stood between me and my dream—lack of financial resources.

At first， I was ready to give up. I mean， who was going to give me， the average high-school girl， that kind of money？ I wasnt the smartest person in my class， not even close； but my heart was in the right place， and I was determined. I knew that scholarships were only given to the really smart kids， or so I thought. I applied for every scholarship I could get my hands on. What did I have to lose？ And then my guidance counselor told me about the financial aid system. I applied， but I didnt think I would qualify for that either.

After the holidays， my friends started receiving their acceptance letters from colleges， and I eagerly anticipated mine. Finally， a letter arrived from the University of Connecticut. Feelings of fear and joy overwhelmed me， but I was ready. I opened the envelope with trembling hands as tears engulfed my eyes. I had done it！ I had been accepted. I felt both extremely excited and afraid. I had worked so hard to get accepted； what if I was denied admission because of my financial status？

I had been working a full-time job， but that was barely enough to pay for tuition. My parents couldnt afford that kind of money， and I wasnt going to pretend that they could. I was the first person in my family， who would attend a university， and I knew how proud my parents were； but it was impossible for them to finance my education. However， my parents are incredible people， and they taught me never to give up on my dreams， regardless of the obstacles that I encounter， and never to lose sight of what I truly want out of life. My parents were right， and I continued to believe in both myself and my dreams.

Months went by before I heard anything from the financial aid office. I assumed that I didnt qualify for aid， but I wasnt ready to lose hope yet. At last， a letter arrived. I opened it eagerly， but it was a false alarm. The letter requested more information in order to process my application.endprint

This happened over and over， and my hopes kept getting shot down. Finally， a bulky envelope arrived. I knew this was the one that would determine whether or not I could attend college. I opened the envelope and could hardly understand what any of the documents inside meant.

The following day， I brought the documents to school and asked my guidance counselor to take a look at them. He looked up at me with a huge smile on his face and told me that not only was financial aid going to help me out with my expenses， but I had also won two of the scholarships I had applied for！ I was in shock at first， and then I cried. I had actually made my dream come true.

I am now a junior at the University of Connecticut， pursuing a degree in English. My dream will become a reality. I will be a teacher.

I live by this quote： “Reach for the sky because if you should happen to miss， you will still be among the stars.”

我不記得是什么時候開始，我一心渴望成為老師。當我是個孩子時，我和我的小堂弟以及小伙伴玩上學的游戲，好為我將來的事業作準備。但是，作為一個孩子，我沒有意識到的是，這個夢想有多么昂貴。我來自一個中產階級家庭，我的夢想看起來是那樣遙不可及，但我不愿意妥協。

剛開始上高三的時候，我開始申請大學，但在我心里我已經作了決定。美國康涅狄格大學就是我的選擇。但是，一個巨大的障礙橫在我和我的夢想之間——資金不足。

一開始，我都準備放棄了。我的意思是，誰會給像我這樣資質一般的高中女孩那么大一筆學費？我不是班級里最聰明的學生，甚至和最聰明還差得遠。但是我的心安得其所，并且我很堅定。我知道獎學金只給真正聰明的孩子，至少我是這么認為的。我申請了所有我能申請的獎學金。嘗試一下又會有什么損失呢？之后我的輔導員向我介紹了財政援助體系。我申請了，但我也認為我沒有資格申請到。

假期結束后，我的朋友們陸續收到大學錄取通知書，我也在熱切期盼我的。終于，一封來自康涅狄格大學的信寄到了。害怕和快樂的感覺同時籠罩著我，但是我已經作好了準備。我顫抖著打開信封，淚水盈滿雙眼。我做到了！我被錄取了。我興奮之至卻也感到深深的恐懼。我這么努力才被錄取，如果因為我的財政狀況無法入學，那可怎么辦？

我一直在做一個全職的工作，但也只是勉強夠支付學費。我的父母無法承擔這樣一筆錢，我也不能假裝他們能負擔。我將是我們家第一個去上大學的人，我知道我的父母為此感到十分驕傲，但我父母不可能資助我完成學業。然而，我的父母是了不起的人。他們教我永遠不要放棄我自己的夢想，不管遇到什么樣的困難，不要忽視我真正想要從生活中得到的。我的父母是對的，而且我一直都相信我自己和我的夢想。

過了幾個月，我沒有得到任何來自財政援助辦公室的消息。我想我沒有資格獲得援助，但我尚未失去希望。最后，來了一封信。我急忙打開它，卻發現是空歡喜一場。信中要求我提供更多的信息以便處理我的申請。

這樣的情況又發生了好幾次，同時我也慢慢失去了希望。最終，一個厚重的信封寄來了。我知道這封信將決定我到底能不能上大學。我打開了信封，幾乎不能理解里面那些文件的意思。

第二天，我帶著那些文件去學校讓我的輔導員看一下。他抬起頭來看著我，臉上掛著燦爛的笑容。他告訴我不僅財政援助會幫助我解決我的生活開銷，而且我還獲得了我申請的兩個獎學金項目。我一下子震驚了，然后放聲大哭。實際上，我已經實現了我的夢想。

我現在已是美國康涅狄格大學的一名大三的學生，正在攻讀一個英語的學位。我的夢想將變成現實。我會成為一名老師。

我一直以這句話作為我的座右銘：“伸手觸摸天空吧，因為即使你碰巧錯過了，你仍在群星之中。”endprint