I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.

I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.”

Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again. Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years 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 walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” came a soft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at 5’5” she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team— much less 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 lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that 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. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team. She was going to get the college education that 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.

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      通过厨房的窗口，我总能看到她。她太瘦小了，不得不拨开一群男生才能穿过操场。学校就在我家对面的那条街，我常看到孩子们在课间玩耍。然而在如潮水般的孩子里，对我来说，她是那么显眼。

      我记得看她打篮球的那天，我看着她在孩子中不断穿梭，她会跳投，球划过其他人的上方然后落入筐中。男生们总是试着防守她，但是无人成功。我开始在别的时候关注她，她持球，独自练习。她一次又一次的练习运球和投篮，有时不到天黑不罢手。有一天我问她为什么要练习那么多次，她正眼看着我，毫不犹豫的说“我想读大学，只有拿到奖学金才能上。我喜欢篮球，我觉得如果我打得够好，就能拿到奖学金了。我也可以参加大学联赛了。我很想成为最棒的那个。爸爸告诉我，如果梦想足够远大，那么现实的周遭环境好坏不算什么。”

      接着她微笑着跑去球场，不断重复之前的动作，那些我看了一遍又一遍的动作。好吧，只能这么说，她真的很努力。我看着她读完了初中，上了高中。每周，她带领的大学生队伍总能获得胜利。在她高三的一天，我见她坐在草坪上，双手托腮。我穿过街，坐在她旁边的草地上，草地很凉。我轻声问她怎么了，“没什么”她柔柔的回答，“我就是太矮了”。教练对她说，就这5尺5寸的身高几乎永远无法在顶级球队效力，奖学金自然就少了很多，所以她应该停止大学梦了。她心碎了，我也嗓子干的说部出话来，我能体会她的失落。

      我问她有没有和她爸爸讲过，她不再托着下巴，然后告诉我她爸爸说那些教练一派胡言，他们只是不明白梦想的力量罢了。父亲告诉她，如果她真的想为进一个好学校而打球，想拿那奖学金，那么除了一件事什么也不能阻止她，那就是态度。父亲重申：如果梦想足够远大，无论什么周围的情况都不能影响她。第二年，她和她的大学生球队打入了北加州的冠军赛。一个大学球探发现了她，她马上就被授予1级全程奖学金并编入NACC女篮队。至此，她渴望了多年并且为之奋斗至今的大学梦，就要成真了。

      千真万确的一句话：如果梦想足够远大，什么也阻止不了你。

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