李嘉卿 深圳大学
To Walk by, or to Kick the Ball

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Today, I am going to share with you my personal reflection on life’s path. That day I was going to a job interview. On the way I walked past a football pitch; a ball came rolling over and happened to stop right at my feet. The guys over there said “Hey, kick the ball here”. At a moment, I pretended not to hear them, because I had a very important interview to go. Staring at the rolling ball, my childhood dream flashed into my mind. I wanted to be a footballer. So I asked myself, should I walk by, or kick the ball? At that moment, the desire to pursue my dream was revived.

What’s the biggest enemy to our dreams, ladies and gentlemen? That so called “given role”. These roles are forced on us from the start. As undergraduates, we are given the role of being test takers. As adults, we are given the role of being money makers. Unfortunately, each of these various roles could easily kill our dreams. It requires hard--work to accomplish the given roles. However, it takes much courage to give them up and have the original dreams revived.

There was a girl, who was considered the model of our “role given” world. She was one of the top students in high school. She graduated from one of the best universities in America. She even worked as a gold-collar on Wall Street. Her life path perfectly described what our “role given” society valued most. But one day she surprised everyone. She was determined to kick the ball. At the peak of her career, she gave up her role-given job. Instead, she had the courage to revive her dream to be a reporter. This girl was—Zeng zimo, now a popular host on Phoenix TV. When asked why she would make this unbelievable decision, she uttered only one sentence, “Why do I have to sacrifice my dream to light up the glories in others’ eyes?”

Zeng zimo is not the only one that has the courage to revive her dream. Ordinary people are also courageous such as Judy Tan, a Chinese American, left her job in US biggest chemistry enterprise and took her courage to be a baker in restaurants. Wang lei, a talented banker graduated from Tsinghua and Wharton School, quit her job and got up her courage to conquer the seven highest peaks on this planet. Neither of them followed the given roles. In contrast, they were courageous to play their own role and write their own script. Consequently, they kick the ball and revive their dreams.
Indeed, for a long time we have been handcuffed to the “given role”. But, what if we slow down and think about what our true roles are? What if, instead, we just bring our original dreams back to life?

It is said that life is like a play. Once the curtain rises, we begin our performance. But how we act is what makes the difference. Don't be trapped by the given roles - which are living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important; have the courage to follow your heart and play your own role. Your heart already knows what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Ladies and gentlemen, if the ball rolls to your feet, will you walk by, or kick it?