I Believe Can？

宋彥儀

Victor Hugo once said，"Steps cannot achieve a place， eyes can reach； vision inaccessible， the spirit can fly." A dream is where the spirit flies. With a dream， you can fly， you can touch the sky …… you can do anything you want. In the Wright brothers case， their dream contributed to their invention of the first flying machine. They had a passion for flying and dared to challenge. Most importantly， they were forward-looking in thoughts and earth-bound in actions to pursue their dreams.

The Wright brothers were two of seven children born in the family. In their childhood， their father brought a toy helicopter， which sparked their interests in flying. They played with it until it broke and then built their own. Later when they grew up， the Wright brothers followed the national bicycle craze and ran a shop where they designed and manufactured bicycles. Wilbur Wright was creative and imaginative while Orville Wright could almost make anything， they were a perfect team. For the brothers， bicycles were not enough to satisfy their interests. They used this endeavor to fund their growing interests in flying. At the time， a German inventor called Otto Lilienhal had designed and flew on a glider， but he couldn't control it and died in an accident. So people took it for granted that human couldn't fly on the sky in 19 century.

Facing the impossible goal， Wilbur said： "That's what I want to do. I believe I can do it." Orville was accustomed to observing how birds control the direction of flight. With a flash of insight， he realized it was the angle of bird's wings that helped it keep balance and adjust its direction. Based on this theory， they started trying out their ideas with kites and gliders. The brothers had concentrated great efforts on experiments for at least 4 years before they manufactured a new glider which could be controlled and flown safely. They didnt stop there. Instead they had an ambition to invent an engine-powered flying machine. Overcoming lots of obstacles， they made a small engine equipped on the glider. The first plane in the world was born in this way. Although the flight was filled with danger， and they had to put their lives on the line， nothing can stop their steps to chase dreams. On December 17 1903， Orville tried the first successful flight. It lasted only 12 seconds， but those 12 seconds changed history.

“The dream was always running ahead of us. To catch up， to live for a moment in unison with it， that was the miracle." The Wright brothers made it. They made the miracle of human flying reality.

For our youngsters， a dream is a belief. If you have a dream， believe in yourself and fly toward it. Don't hesitate and go ahead even if it seems impossible. The road to success cant be very smooth. Say yes to challenges and transform them into strengths and achievements. Rember the great pleasure in your life is making efforts to make your dream come true.

（作者單位：北京市第171中學）