일사랑

Yu Ying Ying 이라는 중국 소녀의 영작문

7월 27th, 2006 at 03:57pm 상우아방

2001년에 미국으로 가족 이민을 떠난 어떤 13세의 중국 소녀가 ‘I believe in’ 이라는 제목으로 미국 지방신문에 게재한 글이라고  하는군요.

중국의 엄격한 시스템에서 자라난 이 소녀가 어떤 관점을 가지고 미국에서의 생활을 풀어나가고 있는지가 드러나고 있습니다.

가족과 국가에 대한 의무감이 이 소녀로 하여금, ‘정원사’라는 직업보다는 ‘변호사’라는 직업을 가지도록 강제하고 있습니다.

이 소녀 스스로도 그런 강제에 동의하며, 이런 의무감이 자신을 추동하는 동력이라고 인식하고 있습니다.

10 여년후, 이 소녀는 과연 행복할까요?

아래는 원문입니다.

I am a good child, obedient.
I grew up in China, a country where education is the center of every child’s life and a grade less than 85 percent is considered a failure.

Grades mean more to us than a mother’s smile, more than the murmur of a wish lingering on birthday candles. I had homework during lunch, math and language classes two times a day. There were punishments for not paying attention. I was beaten with a ruler. I learned to do anything to get a good grade.

I believe in duty, but that belief comes with sacrifice. The achievements I make come with a cost. I remember first grade, the red scarf flapping in the wind, wanting more than anything to be the first one to wear it, that, the symbol of responsibility, excellence and loyalty. The first thing that flashed to mind when I put it on was how glad my family would be, how proud the motherland would be of the child it had borne and how my accomplishments would look on a college application.

All my pride, love, self-esteem — they merge into duty. There have been times I wanted to throw away everything, but duty and obligation were always there to haunt me and to keep me strong. I would think: My parents and grandparents brought me up, my country gave me shelter, my teachers spent so much time building my foundations just to have me throw it all away?

No, I can’t do that! I must repay all that they have done. "I must," "I should," "I have to," all those little phrases govern my life and the lives of many of my classmates.

We struggle on because duty reminds us that the awaiting success is not just for us. It’s for our families, our heritage and our country. I used to want to be a gardener. I liked working outdoors and the gritty feel of dirt was much more tangible than a bunch of flimsy words strung together. But I can never grow up to be a gardener. Everything I have done so far points to the direction of becoming a lawyer. That’s a job my family wholeheartedly supports.

There is no other choice for someone who’s been brought up by such a strict system, someone who has ambition. 

Here in America, there is almost a pressure to follow your dreams. I don’t want any more dreams — dreams are illusions. And it’s too late for me to work toward another future, to let the foundations I have built go to ruins.I believe in the power of duty to impel. Only duty will offer me something true, something worthy of my effort and the support of my family and country. Duty can bring me to an achievement that is greater than I am.

이 글은 국제관계/세계인에 속한 글입니다.