人要有梦想，只有这样，才能航海行舟有指针，才不会在人生的旅途中迷失方向。当然，只有把远大的目标与脚踏实地的努力结合起来，才能最终实现心中的梦想。
If the Dream Is Big Enough
—By Daniel Gross
A school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids from my window as they played basketball. One day, a little girl caught my attention. She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys. Running circles around the other kids, she managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net with no one to stop her. Sometimes, I saw her play alone. She would practice dribbling1 and shooting over and over again, until dark.
One day I asked her why she practiced so much. Without hesitation, she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like to play basketball. If I can play basketball well enough, I can get a scholarship. My Daddy told me that if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count." Then she smiled and ran towards the court to go practice.
I watched her through junior high and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity2 team to victory.
One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I went over there and sat down beside her. Quietly I asked her what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," she replied softly, "I am just too short." The coach told her that at 5'5" she would probably never get to play for a top ranked college team —much less be 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 told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, and if she truly wanted a scholarship, 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, and was offered a full scholarship to a NCAA3 women’s basketball team. She was going to college, which she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.
It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.
Notes:
1. dribble n.(体) 运球,带球
2. varsity n.学校代表
3. NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association (美国)全国大学生体育协会
梦想的力量
叶磊 译
我家与一所学校只有一街之隔，我经常透过窗户看学校里的孩子们打篮球。一天，我注意到一个小姑娘，她身材矮小，却在费劲地从男孩子们中间挤过。她在他们旁边兜来转去，然后尽力地跳起投篮，球恰好越过他们的头顶飞入篮筐，竟无人能挡。有时候我还看到她一个人在练球，她一遍又一遍地练习运球和投篮，直到天黑。
有一天，我问她为什么这么刻苦地练球。她不假思索地说：“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才上得起大学。我喜欢打篮球。如果我篮球打得好，我就能获得奖学金。我爸爸曾对我说‘心中有目标，风雨不折腰’。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场继续练球了。
我一直看着她从初中升到高中。每个星期，她带领的学校篮球代表队都能够获胜。在她读高中毕业班的一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。我走了过去，坐到她旁边，轻轻地问出什么事了。“哦，没什么，”她轻声回答，“就是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她几乎是没有机会到一流的球队去打球的——更不用说会获得奖学金了——所以她应该放弃上大学的梦想。她很伤心，我也觉得自己的喉咙发紧，因为我感觉到了她的失望。我问她是否与她的爸爸谈过这件事。她告诉我，她爸爸说那些教练错了，他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她，如果她真的想到一个优秀的大学去打篮球，如果她真的想获得奖学金，任何东西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不愿意。他又一次对她说：“心中有目标，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人员看中，她获得了全额奖学金，并进入美国全国大学体育协会中的一支女子篮球队。她要去上大学了，经过多年的努力她终于实现了心中的梦想。
那句话没错——心中有目标，风雨不折腰。