留美必读：《不负少年强》英文版 之 My Friend Victor
I was in my darkest days. I struggled to make friends and was having a hard time with my schoolwork. I doubted if I was really special, and I wondered if my kind personality was useful at all. I had tried to make friends through kind acts, but I was taken advantage of and then ignored. I didn’t know what to do. Yet, everything changed after I had the fortune to meet Victor.
It was one day in seventh grade during lunch. It seemed like a normal day. I was sitting quietly at my table, and he was sitting next to me, chatting with others about sports. All of a sudden, he turned and called my name, “Hey Lincoln!” I had no clue who he was, maybe he wanted me to pass him the milk. I raised my guard thinking that all American people would be very mean to me. He would probably try to play a joke on me. However, his smiling face melted my original vigilance. What he said changed my Fessenden experience forever. He did not ask me to pass him the milk or play a naughty trick. He said, “Lincoln, you have got to try out for the wrestling team! It is so much fun!” I had not expected anyone to say anything like this to me, especially an American. Stunned, I replied, “Okay, I’ll try?” Later that year I joined the wrestling team. His words changed my Fessy life in three ways: I made my first American friend, I joined the wrestling team and made more friends, and I realized that people were not always going to be mean to me. He helped me gain the confidence to reach out to others.
Victor was a seventh g r a d e d a y b o y ¹ a n d a w re s t l e r to o. H e w a s a wrestling state champion who started wrestling when he was very young. Besides being a superb wrestler and around 6’ 4”, Victor was also very friendly towards other people. We became good friends because we were on the wrestling team together. Even though wrestling was what bonded us together, the end of the season could not break us apart. When the winter season ended, Victor encouraged me to join the crew team. His enthusiasm and my special love for water sports pushed me to try out for the team. He told me he believed I would make it and he gave me the encouragement I needed. As a result of our friendship, I became much more open and returned to a happy state of mind. My humorous nature returned alongside my newly found happiness and soon Victor became my best friend.
Being a great friend, one weekend he invited me to his house to sleep over and go to a fair². Not a lot of the Chinese students get invited to local student’s homes like this. His invitation signified that I successfully made a good American friend. When I was at Victor’s house I talked with many other American kids. They all liked me very much and were not mean at all. It made my experience even more enjoyable. After the fair, we all returned to Victor’s house and he introduced me to a new card game. The rules of the game were pretty simple. Each player took turns and acted as the dealer. The dealer played a card with a question or prompt. All the other players would place one of their answer cards face down in a pile. After everyone had laid down a card, the dealer would read them out loud, and then select the one they thought was the funniest. We couldn’t wait for it to start. When I was dealt my answer cards I was speechless. Many of my cards contained unfamiliar vocabulary words. Some of the words were only funny if used in a special way. I wasn’t sure if the deeper meaning behind the words was what made them funny. The idioms and phrases on the cards had non-literal meanings that could not simply be translated. I had no idea what many of the cards meant.
The beginning of the game was very frustrating due to my confusion. Victor came to my rescue and carefully explained what each idiom on my cards meant. Even though I started to get the hang of the game I couldn’t get the judges to laugh because of my English skills. It made me a little bit sad. Half way into the game I asked Victor a question about a card in my hand. He explained the meaning and told me it was funny. A few rounds later it was Victor’s turn to be the judge. I chose to put down the card he explained to me since I thought it would be hysterical. One by one he read all the cards in front of him. Some made everyone in the room laugh and others were met with silence. When Victor read my card it caused a few people to laugh. I was happy that at least someone thought my choice was funny. After Victor finished reading all the cards he announced, “Okay, I will pick…… this card!” He pointed at my card! It was really nice of him to give the win to me. Touched, I didn’t cheer out loud like everybody else. I smiled joyfully from the bottom of my heart and said, “Thank you.” That day, I felt that there was a place for kindness in this world.
From Victor, I learned to take the initiative and reach out to other people, especially when they are having troubles, or feeling down about their life. I no longer doubt the importance of kindness. Victor reminded me why kindness is such an important characteristic. He showed me how being kind would make others feel, despite the fact that my kindness was taken advantage of, and even though no one cared about my kindness at the beginning. I gained the courage to be kind again. Now I know being kind is not just assisting when someone asks for it. It is also giving out sincere encouragement at all times. Like the win he gave me while playing the card game. That was what I needed the most. Now I know kindness will be appreciated and that people will be remembered for their kind deeds.
Note
1. A day boy is a student who doesn’t live at the boarding school. Our school is approximately 20% boarding students and 80 % day school students.
2. A fair is similar to a traveling amusement park. They are most common in the summer and are usually open for a weekend. They have rides, games, and delicious foods.
