Dream in Heart

On the first day of school our professor introduced a new classmate—a wrinkled little old lady—to us. Her name was Rose, and she was eighty-seven years old.

After class Rose and I walked to the Student Union Building and shared a chocolate milk-shake. She told me she always dreamed of having a college education and now she was getting one. We became instant friends. Every day for the following months, we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always attracted, listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Rose became famous and easily made friends wherever she went. She tended to be highly motivated, responsible, and deeply involved in class participation. In spare time she had someone hang out or go to bars with. She even participated in some form of athletic activity. She said that extra-curricular activities could form a vital part of her experience, creating unique chances for friendship and learning.

At the end of the term, we invited Rose to speak at our football meal. A little embarrassed, she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so nervous.” As we laughed, she cleared her throat and began,“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.There is a huge difference between growing old and growing up. If you’re nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year, you will turn twenty. If I’m eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year, I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. It’s non-optional but that doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the chance in change. In this way the elderly don’t have regrets for what they did, but rather for things they did not do.” Rose concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged us to study the words of the song and lived them out in daily lives.

At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in honor of the wonderful woman who taught us by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

I’m in middle school, and not that good at reading. I am a little behind and hate the books we are made to read. But I want to get better at reading. I don’t like being the weakest reader in the class. I want to change. I know I need help when it comes to reading. I’m hopeful that I can overcome (克服) my weakness if I try to find some ways and work hard.

So I go to the library every weekend. Last Saturday I went straight to the Young Adult section to search. There were hundreds of books to choose from. Finally, I saw a cover that was shiny, and it reflected (反射) the light and caught my eye. I saw that it was blue — I liked blue. So I picked it up and read the back. It sounded interesting, although it was the second book in the series, I got it. I read that book in two days, and found it was so attractive, so I read the whole series in a week.

By judging (判断) a book by its cover, I was not only able to pick up a book that became one of my favourites, but I also didn’t have to pick up hundreds of books that I may not like. If I never judged a book by its cover, I might have never found that book in the first place.

This advice is suitable for other things in life as well, especially when it comes to people. It’s not always exact, but by judging a person by their appearance — the way they dress, talk, and act — you can quickly see if you want to read their general condition by having a conversation with them. If you enjoy them like you enjoy a good book, then you can keep them in your inner circle — the people that you care about and who care about you.

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The next building was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window. It really looks terrible.”

One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.