成长之痛

绘◎盒子菌

扫我，朗读给你听

You might not get what you wish for, but you always get what you work for. I want to be a professional ballerina①ballerina 英 [bælə'riːnə] 美 [,bælə'rinə] n. 芭蕾舞女演员with the American Ballet Theatre in New York when I grow up, and I work toward my dream by training over 18 hours a week. I even started homeschooling②homeschooling[,hom'skulɪŋ] n. 在家教育so I could make more time for dance.I love dancing more than anything. It makes me feel strong and invincible③invincible 英 [ɪn'vɪnsɪb(ə)l] 美 [ɪn'vɪnsəbl]adj. 无敌的；不能征服的, like nothing could ever bother me. Most important,it helped me deal with the most difficult event of my life—the death of my dad when I was seven.

My dad died of a heart attack while playing hockey, his favorite sport. When my mom first told me, it didn't hit me that I would never be able to see him again. He'd always danced with me; I even used to make him do stretches beforehand. It was also hard to tell my friends and classmates because I didn't know what to say, and they never knew how to respond. But four years later,everything that I do, I do in memory of my dad. I dedicated④dedicate 英 ['dedɪkeɪt] 美 ['dɛdɪket] vt. 致力；献身；题献my first dance solo, "The Love Lives On," to him when I was nine.

I would have never gotten through the experience without my mom. She comforted me when I was in grief and pain, and we wrote down all the memories I had with my dad in a special book. Now that I'm older, my mom and I do get on each other's nerves more often—for a while, my schedule was very busy and we were so stressed that our little miscommunications would rise into huge arguments. But after we attended counseling and I started homeschooling, things got much better, and now my mom and I have more quality time to spend together.

仅有愿望，你也许会求而不得，但只要付出努力，你定能心想事成。我想长大后成为一名专业舞蹈演员，去纽约的美国芭蕾舞剧院工作。为了这一梦想，我每周训练超过18小时。我甚至开始在家自学，以赢得更多时间去跳舞。舞蹈是我的至爱，它使我内心强大，所向披靡，就像任何事都难不倒我。最重要的是，它帮我挺过了生命中最艰难的时刻——父亲在我7岁时撒手西去。

父亲死于心脏病突发，当时他正在打曲棍球，那是他的至爱。当妈妈告诉我这一噩耗时，我还不懂得这意味着再也不能见到父亲了。他一直陪我练舞，我总让他帮我舞前热身。告诉朋友和同学这一消息极为艰难，因为我不知道如何开口，他们也不知道说什么好。现在，4年过去了，我所做的一切都是为了纪念父亲。9岁时我把第一个单人舞献给父亲，名字就叫“爱生生不息”。

如果没有妈妈的陪伴，我也许永远也无法走出困境。在伤心悲痛的时刻，是妈妈在劝慰我。我们用一个特别的笔记本，记下我与父亲一起度过的点点滴滴。随着年龄的增长，我和妈妈彼此看不顺眼的时候也在增多——有时，我的计划排得太满，倍感压力，以至于我们之间小小的交流不畅就会演变成大的争执。后来我们进行了心理辅导，我也开始在家自学，情况才慢慢好转。现在，我们母女俩一起有更多温馨的时光了。

这一切让我明白，在任何关系构建中，谈话与交流是多么重要啊！没错，友谊也不例外。当我和朋友外出时，我尽力不去看手机。试想你跟某个人对坐桌旁，她一直在发短信而不是同你说话，那该多么尴尬啊！我觉得，做个好朋友就意味着心地善良，尊重对方，公平公正，幽默风趣——而我则力图把这些品质亲身表现出来，而不仅仅是在电话中！

I've learned that talking and communicating are very important things to do in any relationship,and that definitely includes friendships too! When I hang out with my friends, I try not to look at my phone. It's so awkward when you're sitting at a table with someone else, and she's texting instead of talking to you. I think a good friend is kind, respectful, fair, and funny—and I'll always strive⑤strive 英 [straɪv] 美 [straɪv] vi. 努力；奋斗；抗争to be all of these things in person, not just on the phone!