My dream ended when I was born. Although I never knew it then， I just held on to① something that would never come to pass. Dreams really do exist. But in the morning when you wake up， they are remembered just as a dream. That is what happened to me.
I always had the dream to dance like a beautiful ballerina② twirling③ around and around and hearing people applaud for me. When I was young， I would twirl around and around in the fields of wildflowers that grew in my backyard.
I thought that if I twirled faster everything would disappear and I would wake up in a new place. Reality woke me up when I heard a voice saying， “I don’t know why you bother trying to dance. Ballerinas are pretty， slender④ little girls. Besides， you don’t have the talent to even be a ballerina.” I remember how those words paralyzed⑤ every feeling in my body. I fell to the ground and wept for hours.
We lived in the country by a nearby lake. I did not like to be at home. When my parents were home， my mother just yelled and criticized because nothing was ever perfect in her life. She dreamed of a different life but she ended up living in the country far away from the city where she believed her dreams would have come true.
I enjoyed hanging out⑥ by the water. I would sit there for hours and stare at my reflection⑦. There I was， looking nothing like a pretty ballerina dancer. Reflections don’t lie. Once the waves would come， my reflection was gone. Washed away just like my dream to dance.
As I grew older， I began to realize that the reason my dream was even born， was because it was something that was inside of me. The dream I had was never nurtured⑧ and cared for， so it slowly died. It’s not that I wanted it to die， but I allowed it to die the day I started listening to the words， “You can’t do it.” When I finally woke up from many years of dreaming， I realized that you can’t settle for⑨ dancing in the wildflowers， you have to move on to the platform⑩.
① hold on tov. 坚持
② ballerinan. 芭蕾舞女演员
③ twirlv. 转动，旋转
④ slenderadj. 苗条的，修长的
⑤ paralyzev. 使瘫痪，使麻痹
⑥ hang out闲逛，（在某处）闲呆着
⑦ reflectionn. 倒影
⑧ nurturev. 培育，培养
⑨ settle for满足于
⑩ platformn. 平台，舞台
关爱梦想
我一出生，梦想就结束了，然而当时我却毫不知晓，仍执著于一些永无实现之日的事情。我的确怀有许多梦想。不过，当早晨醒来之时，所记起的却只是一场梦境而已。我的经历就是如此。
我一直梦想着像一个美丽的芭蕾演员一样跳舞，轻盈地旋来转去，耳边是人们的掌声喝彩。小时候，我常常在自家后院长满野花的草地上练习芭蕾舞的旋转动作。
我想要是我转得再快一点，眼前的一切都会消失，我将会获得一方新的天地。然而现实唤醒了我，我听到一个声音说：“我不明白你为什么不厌其烦地尝试跳舞。跳芭蕾舞的人都长得漂亮、苗条、娇小可爱。还有，你也没有跳芭蕾舞的天分。”记得当时那些话让我的全身都失去了知觉。我瘫倒在地上，哭了好几个小时。
我们家住在乡下，附近有一个湖。我不喜欢呆在家里，妈妈总是在家里大喊大叫着抱怨生活处处不如意。她曾经梦想住在城市里，只有在那里她的理想才能实现，而后来却住在这远离城市的乡下，这与她的理想完全两样。
我喜欢到水边呆着，在那，常常一坐就是几个小时，静静地望着水中我的倒影。水中的我哪也不像一个漂亮的芭蕾舞演员，倒影从不撒谎。微波荡过倒影消失了，就像我的跳舞的梦想一样消失了。
随着我的成长我开始明白之所以我的梦产生，是因为那个梦就在我心里。而我的梦想从未得到过培育和呵护，因此它慢慢地死去了。我并不想让它死去，但是从我听到“你办不到”这种话的那一天，我却放任了它的死去。最后，当我从多年来的梦想中醒来时，我才明白过来：你不能满足于在野花丛中跳舞，你必须设法到舞台上去跳。
