董枨靓 中南大学

When I was a kid, I sometimes heard the old people say if I could live my life again, then I would do this or do that to realize my childhood dreams. This troubles me a lot, if we have some dreams in our heart, then why wouldn’t we put them into reality?

One thousand years ago, flying was the dream of our ancestors, but today, many of us took plane to come here. One hundred years ago, pneumonia was a deadly disease, and conquering it was the dream of myriad medical workers. But today, for curing pneumonia, all you need to do is to take some pills and rest for several days. Ten years ago, when a boy was dumped by his girl friend, he might go back home and weep, stealingly. But today, he can go to facebook.

Our predecessors had the ability to realize their dreams, so do we. Although we have problems ahead of us, obstacles to deal with, pressures from ourselves, our families and our society, we also have capacity to solve these problems, to overcome these obstacles and to deal with these pressures.

For example, recently Harvard doctor Doglus Melton settled the difficulty in setting the cell development procedure backward and pressure from the government and accomplished his dreams of cultivating stem cells without using embryonic cells. Also, medical workers conquered challenge of developing artificial nerves that connect to real nerves and successfully made an artificial arm that even has the sense of touching, bringing hope to myriad of handicapped people in the world.

Samuel Ullman once said, “Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” But I also like to put it in this way, “Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up dreams wrinkles the soul.” We young people are enthusiastic creatures and we are born to be fearless dreamers, so why give up our dreams and give into pressures, or “so-call reality”?

Let us imagine what would happen if young people give up their dreams and passion? Well, biologically speaking, they may evolve into man-like machines, because fulfilling the tasks our society puts on them would become their life-time mission. And psychologically speaking, I am afraid that mental problems would haunt them. In a realistic society where social status is the major measurement for success, people’s psychological condition would be rather instable.

But what is really beyond my imaginations is to suppose what our world would be like if the Wright brothers kneeled down to the social pressure of their time; if Doctor Fleming forgot about his dreams; if Mr. Mark Zarkburg turned to another girl and surrendered to the pressure from the Winklevoss brothers?

You may ask me, do you have dreams? Then I will tell you a story of how a keen medical biology lover forfeited her prosperous future of becoming an electronic engineer and changed her major into medical biology, of how a used-to-be-shy young girl conquered all her fear and pressure and stands before you today to share her ideas and thoughts with this large audience. True story, by the way.

If I could live old enough to have grandchildren and grand grandchildren, I will tell them that their grandmother realized many of her dreams and she is persistent in trying to realize more, because her personal philosophy is, to persist to strive to dream!

Thank you!