Chasing a Dream

I will never forget that November day. It was hotter than normal — too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. This was the day we had waited so long for. I looked out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces flashed across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, with worry and excitement on his face. Adrenaline (肾上腺素) pumped through my body, and the race began.

For the first two and a half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with strictly controlled practices and a strict diet. My friends hadn’t seen me in weeks, but they understood the sacrifice required to make my dream a reality.

My dad and I had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was excited by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice — telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms (花簇) of the orange trees, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness.

But without warning, when I was 200 yards away from the finish line, my legs stopped working. My lungs fought to take in enough air, and my feet transformed into cement (水泥) bricks. I still don’t know what happened in those last few moments. Nothing I could do would make them hold my weight. They were as weak as jelly.

Even though I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race.

“I’m so sorry I disappointed you,” I whispered to Dad.

Thomas and John have a lot in common. They are both talented high school seniors. They both love basketball. They are both captains of their respective high school basketball teams. But on one Saturday night in February, they were forever linked in the minds of all who were present for a mutual act of courage, sportsmanship(体育精神)and respect.

The remarkable moment came during a game between Thomas's small town Illinois team and John's big city team in Wisconsin—a game that almost wasn't played. Just days before the game, John's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer. Her death was sudden and painful for all who knew her.

John's coach wanted to cancel the game, but John insisted that the game should be played. So with heavy hearts, his teammates prepared to honor their captain's wishes and play without him.

What they weren't prepared for was John's appearance in the gym mid-way through the first half. As soon as the coach saw John, he called a time out, and players and fans surrounded the young man to offer love and support.

The coach asked him if he wanted to sit on the bench with the team. “No,” John said. “I want to play.” Of course his team was excited to have him. But because John wasn't on the pre-game roster(候选名单), putting him in the game at that point would result in a technical foul(犯规)and two free throws for the opposing team.

However, John's coach agreed with that. He could see that this was the teenager's way of coping with his loss. He thought the points didn't matter. The opposing team understood the situation and told the referees to let John play and forget the technical foul. The referees argued that a rule is a rule, and the free throws would have to be taken before the game could proceed. For possibly the first time in basketball history, referees had to force a team to accept and take the technical free throws.

During the summer before Patty entered fifth grade, she decided to try a new sport. Swim training was nearly over and Patty was the fastest swimmer in her age group. She had always been the best. The neighborhood was offering a one-week tennis training course. Patty and her friend Darla got permission from their parents to join.

On Saturday morning, Darla’s mom took the girls to a store and bought them each a good, used tennis racket. “If you girls stick to tennis, then we’ll talk about a new racket. These will do for now.” The girls were excited about their new purchases. On Monday morning, at 7:00 a.m., Patty’s mom woke her up. “It’s time for tennis!” Patty covered her face. “Mom, it’s too early!” She made great effort to get out of bed and down to the breakfast table. Patty finished breakfast and ran to Darla’s house, then they walked to the court.

Mrs. Cane, the tennis coach, lined everyone up and started with the basics. After that, Mrs. Cane tirelessly taught them to practice their forehand and backhand. By the end of the week, Patty had made impressive progress. Mrs. Cane commented that Patty had lots of potential. Darla, on the other hand, was struggling. The other teenagers were having a tough time of it, too. Patty was the only one who seemed to get somewhere.

Since then, Darla had always been out in the August heat, practicing her serves or hitting the ball. Patty wasn’t really interested. She felt she was such a “natural” for tennis that she really didn’t need to practice. By the end of the summer, Darla began to get the hang of it. She joined a neighborhood junior tennis team. There would be matches every Thursday. Patty wanted to join as well, but she didn’t want to miss her favorite TV show. She told herself that she would join it when she got some free time. If Darla had fun, she would join the team in the spring.

The week before school started, Mrs. Cane held another training course.

Patty couldn’t stop thinking of her poor performance on the way home.

Friend or Foe?

Last year, at day camp, my friend Ollie and I were on the same obstacle- course (障碍赛) team and had a great time. This year, Scotty, the captain of Team Panda, insisted we pick sticks to decide which team we belonged to.

At the beginning, we just wished we’d be on the same team again. But to our disappointment, Ollie had picked a short stick for Team Grizzly, while I had a long stick for Team Panda. My heart sank as something were definitely going to be different.

We all played a name game together, and then were divided into two groups to make team flags. “Could you please pass that paint?” asked a boy named Ben, “We’re going to destroy the Grizzlies! Right, Arizona?”

“But Ollie, my best friend, is in Grizzly. How come I destroy him?”I asked myself shyly.

Then at lunchtime, I planned to sit with Ollie at the same table as last year, cracking each other up the way good friends do. “What are you doing? Having lunch with our enemy is not OK!!!” claimed a girl in my team. Only then did I realize there was an invisible dividing line. All of the Grizzlies sat together, and all of the Pandas sat together. I had no other alternative but to say goodbye to Ollie and concentrate on my lunch.

That night I hardly fell asleep. Ben’s voice was saying “ Destroy the Grizzlies!” on repeat. I was wondering if being a good team member meant I was supposed to put my friendship with Ollie aside. One of my best friends was a Grizzly, and it just didn’t seem fun to treat him as an enemy.

I woke up with zero energy for our first competition the next morning. We each had two tries to race through an obstacle course. My first try was a disaster! I did OK with the monkey bars, the tunnel, and the slide. But when I did the rope swing over the sandpit(沙坑), I went too slow and got stuck in the middle. I felt pretty frustrated.

When 1 finished the course, Ollie came over.

On my second time through the obstacle course, Ollie stood up for me.