李思佳 中国政法大学

                                     The power of dreams

Dreams are powerful. Actually, dreams are more than powerful. They are fancy and romantic fairytales. In dreams, the prince and the princess always live happily ever after and the ordinary but hardworking kid always ends up being a remarkable success.

I am a glass-half-full kind of person, but I’m also a realist. I dreamed of being a pianist at the age of 6, but it was more difficult than I anticipated so I had to give up, and I believe, most people have experienced the same. We fail to realize our original ambition, especially in these days, when the competition is increasingly fierce, the pressure for finding a good job is ridiculously heavy, the cost of housing is outrageously high, and it’s even more difficult to find someone to love and to marry. So what if we fail to realize our dreams? Does that make us losers?

No. In most cases, one tries very hard but only realizes part of his or her dream. 50% is pretty good, like Derek Redmond, who participated in the 400-meter race in 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. He walked to the finishing line after he hurt his leg halfway. He wasn’t the champion, but he earned the whole world’s cheers and respect. 80% is very impressive, like Hillary Clinton, the secretary of America, who has always had the dream of having a voice in the political field. She was in the election of the president of USA. Although she gave up finally, she is still one of the greatest leaders in American history, and even in the world. Anybody who realizes 100% of his or her dream is a miracle. We may not be lucky enough to experience miracles, but we can still dream. We can strive for our dreams as hard as possible, and we can still achieve a great life. The power of a dream is not about realizing it; it’s what we gain from striving: courage, maturity, experience and respect. Eventually, the unachieved part doesn’t make us failure, but the achieved part makes us extraordinary. And for me, although I won’t be a world-renowned pianist, I can still play the piano in the lobby of the library in my school as a volunteer, and the music still touches my heart.

At the end of my speech, I would like to say: dream big, and strive hard. Whatever the results are, we will achieve a lot from life.