A school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids from my window as they played basketball. One day, a little girl caught my attention. She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys. Running circles around the other kids, she managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net with no one to stop her. Sometimes, I saw her play alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, until dark.
One day I asked her why she practiced so much. Without hesitation, she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is that I get a scholarship. I like to play basketball. If I can play basketball well enough, I can get a scholarship. My Daddy told me that if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.” Then she smiled and ran towards the court to do practice.
I watched her through junior school and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.
One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I went over there and sat down beside her. Quietly I asked her what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” she replied softly, “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5'5” she would probably never get to play for a top ranked college team —much less be offered a scholarship —so she should stop dreaming about college.
She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, and if she truly wanted a scholarship, nothing could stop her except one thing —her own attitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.”
The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter, and was offered a full scholarship to a NCAA women's basketball team. She was going to college, which she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.
It's true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.
【助读词汇】
-muscle v. 使劲行进
-dribble v.运球
-varsity n. 大学运动代表队
-recruiter n. 征兵人员，招聘人员
NCAA (美国)全国大学生体育协会(＝National Collegiate Athletic Association)
【参考译文】
我家街对面有所学校，我常常从窗户往外看孩子们打篮球。有一天，一个小女孩引起了我的注意。她在一群男孩子中穿梭，看起来那么娇小。她在男孩旁边跑来跑去，没人挡得住她，她越过他们的头顶进行跳投。有时候，我会看见她一个人在打。她会一遍一遍地练习运球投篮直到天黑。
有一天，我问她为什么如此努力练习。她马上回答说：“我想上大学。上大学的唯一一条路就是获得奖学金。我喜欢打篮球。如果我打得够好，我就能获得奖学金。我爸爸告诉我：“如果你梦想够远大，现实都不足为挂。”说完，她笑着又跑回球场练习去了。
我看着她从初中升入高中。每周，她的球队都在她带领下取得胜利。
在她读高三的那年，有一天我看见她坐在草坪上，双臂抱着头。我走过去，坐在她旁边。我轻声问她出什么事了。“噢，没事，”她小声回答说：“我太矮了。”教练告诉她五英尺五英寸的身高可能打不进重点大学的篮球队——更不用说赢得奖学金了——所以叫她放弃上大学的梦想。
她很难过。当我感觉到她的失望，我的喉咙有点哽咽。我问她是否跟她爸说过这事。她说爸爸告诉她这些教练都错了。他们不懂梦想的力量。他跟她讲如果她真想为一所好大学打篮球，如果她真想获得奖学金，没什么能阻挡她除了——她自己的态度。他又跟她说了一遍，“如果你的梦想够伟大，现实就不足为挂。”
第二年，当她和她的球队参加北加州冠军赛时，她被一所大学的招生人员相中，获得了全额奖学金，并进入美国全国大学体育协会中的一支女子篮球队。她就要上大学去了，这些年来她一直梦寐以求并不懈努力的梦想。
“如果你梦想够远大，现实都不足为挂。”这话没错。
【人生启迪】
有句耳熟能详的广告词：“心有多大，舞台就有多大。”梦想的大小决定你未来的大小。但是梦想只是那远远地灯塔，只有你不断地努力才能抵达。