Do you have a dream? When I asked this question to my classmates, their answers were no. I couldn’t understand. Why don’t they have dreams? Well, I have many dreams. When I was young, my dream was that one day I could stand in Beijing’s opera house and dance on stage like a beautiful swan. I dreamed about being a dancer. When I was in primary school, my dream was to write amazing children’s novels. I dreamed of becoming an author. I wanted to be somebody.

    But now, I have a completely different dream. My dream is to be brave. To believe in myself. To have faith in myself. Why? Because in the past, whenever I met a new challenge, my immediate reaction was: “I can’t. It’s too difficult.”

    I feared those challenges. When I was in our school’s dance group, I thought I would never dance as well as the others. So every time when they tried a new routine, I would run to the back of the room as fast as I could. I thought no one would see me if I stayed there. If they couldn’t see me they wouldn’t laugh at me and I wouldn’t be embarrassed.

    I was inspired by the story of Helen Keller. She was blind and deaf, but with her teacher’s help and courage, she became a strong, brave and confident woman. No one laughed at her anymore.

    I’m not blind or deaf, and I do have good qualities inside me, so why should I shrink back? Why shouldn’t I have confidence in myself? Everyone has weaknesses but that is nothing to be ashamed of.

    I determined I would change. I told myself I wouldn’t run to the back of the dancing room when we tried something new. I wouldn’t complain about school and life so much like I did before. I would try new things and face all the difficulties bravely. I would stand up straight and move forward steadily. Because that’s what life is about. Stretching and challenging, looking for ways to improve yourself.

    If I am brave, I can do anything. I can be strong enough to get back up whenever I fall. If I am brave, I will be confident and not fear embarrassment.

    This is the dream for myself and for my country. My dream for China is that all my countrymen will be brave and reach their full potential. If we are all brave, together, we can make China stronger. Together we can make our Chinese dream come true.