Never Too Old to Live Your Dream

 　　The first day of school our professor introduced himself to our chemistry class and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.1

　　She said, "Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

　　I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.2

　　"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?"3 I asked.

　　She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel."

　　"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

　　"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one !" she told me.

　　After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.4 We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized5 listening to this "time machine"6 as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

　　Over the course of the school year, Rose became a campus icon7 and easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed¹ upon her from the other students.8 She was living it up.9

　　At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.10 As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three-by-five cards11 on the floor. Frustrated² and a bit embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery³.12 I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing⁴ me!13 I'll never get my speech back in order to let me just tell you what I know." 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 are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success.

　　"You have to laugh and find humor each and every day.

　　"You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and they don't even know it!

　　"There is a giant difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability.14 The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.

　　"Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

　　She concluded her speech by courageously⁵ singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics⁶ and live them out in our daily lives.15

　　At 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 tribute to16 the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

1 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

6 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。