2015-11-26

【Aiden in English】

        Every person is a kid somewhere. Yes, I borrowed that phrase from the Powerade® commercial, but it's true. Kids, from whom we grow, change. I know because I am one, and if you know me long enough, you can say that I've changed. Yes, although I still have the same face as I did five or seven years ago, I can assure you that my personality has undergone significant changes.

        In the past, I seemed like a scientist of wondrous and complex ideas, full of formulas, postulates, and hypotheses. Was I? Sorry to disappoint all of the Chinese parents, but the answer is that I am not an Einstein, Oppenheimer, and Edison all crammed into one. What I am, or rather, was a very imaginative kid. As life went on, you could say that many dreams of mine dissipated, some even arguably crushed beneath the feet of science itself. With my imagination, I pictured a world of good and evil, the typical five-year-old philosophy, where I had superpowers unlike any other. I wished for powers like laser beams or teleportation, and still, even at this age, it would be cool to have one or the other, just for different reasons. 

        Nowadays, my wish list has shifted from the impossible to a phone, which, in my household, is considered another impossibility. Well, until high school, that is. People say it will come quickly, but by the pace middle school has been going, I have not seen it on the future calendar for a while. I don't desperately need a phone. However, I can begin to see how it would be nice to have one. For example, earlier this week, my school bus broke down on the way home. Stuck on the side of the road and at the nearest bus stop, clueless about our location, I had no way of contacting my mom for a rescue vehicle. We were within walking distance, but the bus driver kindly allowed us to sit in our seats for an hour instead. She yells a lot, and I theorized that she planned this breakdown for us to be tortured. Seriously, were there no buses within an hour's drive radius? Stuck without a phone, my friend's parents came one by one and took their children to safety, while I, in contrast, remained stuck in a yellow "boiler room" from which another bus was scheduled to depart in an hour. Additionally, I was pretty bored during the second half of the hour, as all my friends had left, and I finished one of the most outstanding books I've read. 

        Now, you might wonder how this relates to my personality. My need for the phone was very recent, and it was due to the sudden increase in social media chatter at school. I find that I'm growing a sense of "want-to-know." I want to know the new vibe as quickly as possible. I want to be able to look up last night's football scores instantly. I want to know if Kate broke up with Robbie (which will be confirmed) or if Megan slapped Joseph. I want to know if Collin was hit by a car again. I want to know if Chip Kelly will be fired. Without a phone, I won't catch on to things unless they're spoken to me face-to-face. 

        As for the future, it's a long way off. I have one condition for what's next: no promises. It's just a precautionary measure of safety I must take, so when I inevitably fail in the end, I'll have some pillows to cushion my fall. As a child, I yearned for technology far beyond what we had. Unlike my other dreams, this one was not crushed; instead, it snowballed into a desire. I aim to revolutionize the world's technology, ushering in new, extraordinary eras where life can be even more remarkable. I want to know. I want to see the world's secrets, the universes, and ours. With advanced technology, I want this generation to be the ones that discover what the last one did not. I want to know. And if our ability can reach that far, maybe I can fulfill that childish dream of being a superhero with inventions of unimaginable wonder.

【红霞译】

        每个人或多或少都带有童真性，是的，我引用了“动乐”饮料的广告词句，不过它讲得千真万确，一方水土养一方人，对之我深有体会。如果你了解我，那么肯定看得出我在成长中的变化，没错儿，尽管自己的长相与五年前或者七年前类似，但我敢保证本人的个性已发生改变。

        过去，我很像一位富有奇念善于思考的科学家，满脑子离不开公式、假设、推论之类的东西，难道我真是这样？对不起，我的答案令中国父母大失所望，因为我从未集爱因斯坦、奥本海默及爱迪生于一体，相反倒是或者情愿成为一位怀揣梦想的少年。随着时间推移，你不难察觉我的很多幻想一个个地化成泡影，有的甚完全经不起科学推敲。凭借个人想象力，我对世界的认识仍然停留在好坏之分上，理念思维与五岁顽童没啥两样，而且还自以为能力超常，当然我所期盼的能力无异于激光束或瞬间移动。基于其它原因，即便长到现在这把年纪，我一直对形形色色的特异功能想入非非。

        如今，我的愿望排行表已从离谱的空想转入实用的手机，但对于我家，它却属于超现实范畴，恐怕在未进入高中之前，我只能可望而不可即。常言道，光阴似箭岁月如梭，初中拖泥带水的节奏叫我一时看不到盼头。说实在的，我并非需要手机，然而我正开始意识到它的优势所在。举个例子，本周初在放学的路上校车意外抛锚，出于无奈，大家停靠路边静候附近其它校车送我们回家，我无法联系妈妈救急，但从事发地点可以直接步行到家，司机还是劝我们上车等候一个钟头。期间，她动不动发火，令我禁不住猜测莫非成心折磨大家，难道方圆一小时车程距离以内真的没有任何校车可以挺身而出？眼见同学们一个接着一个被父母带到安全可靠的世外桃源，没有手机的我被撇在黄包“蒸笼”里遭受一个钟头苦难煎熬，问题在于后半个小时更加无聊透顶，害得我闷头一口气干掉这辈子大概读过的最精彩的著作。

        现在你也许要问，怎么能跟我的个性挂起钩来？这么说吧，直到最近我才萌生想要手机的欲望，主要因为它一下子成为初中学校社交媒介，而我也到了“想要把握”事情来龙去脉的年龄。我想与大家同呼吸共命运；我想了解昨晚橄榄球赛比分结果；我想知道凯特是否跟罗比分手（事实果真如此）或者梅根是否扇了约瑟夫一记耳光；我想八卦柯林是否又跟汽车过意不去；我想目睹费城老鹰队快速进攻教头凯利是否落个被解雇的下场。没有手机，我无法享受得到第一手资料的快感，除非有人直面告诉我所发生的一切。

        放眼未来，真可谓路漫漫其修远兮，我应对梦想看得客观一点：别抱希望。有了心理准备，即使遇到史无前例非得尝试的挫折，我也能找到办法减少伤害。儿提时代，我渴望天花乱坠超脱实际的东西；青春年少，我追求一种执着，像滚雪球一样，希望梦想成真。我想要推动世界科技水平进入一个全新震撼人心的时代，让生活变得更加美好。“天地玄黄，宇宙洪荒；日月盈昃，辰宿列张”。我要探索，去揭开地球、宇宙以及我们自身更多的奥秘。我想要利用高科技知识，让我们这一代承上启下，完成前人未竟的事业。我要探索。假如人类有能力做到这些，也许我真能成为开拓未来发明奇迹的超级英雄。

Speech Contest @ Guanghua Chinese School

(光华中文学校·演讲比赛 10-18-2015)

Windlestrae Park (温德尔斯特雷“风草”公园)

Crosslink(相关博文):

7th Grade(初中二年级)