Life without Limits

''For the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me, and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.'' Before Nick's ridiculous good life really began, he had once fallen into a desperate swamp, feeling hopeless, helpless, and valueless.

''You can’t even imagine the good that awaits you if you refuse to give up.'' Sometimes in life you won’t get the answers you seek right away. You have to walk in faith. It strongly resonates with my heart because I always remember the time when I first prepared for my piano contest.

As a little girl, I learned to play the piano owing to my interest. But during that time, my passion for playing the piano almost faded away. Turning a hobby into a serious training would, to some degree, become a burden. But what I didn't know then was that sometimes the tough trial can upgrade what I like to a higher level. The reason is that once you've tasted its bitter side, you would be much sharper at its sweet side.

During the time I prepared for the piano contest, all I had was only a pair of hands which were under great pain due to constant practice. I practiced playing the piano for the same piece of music about two to three hours a day. It was very monotonous and furthermore, practicing made my arms and fingers hurt a lot. Yet later on, I found my skill improved a lot, and miraculously it paid off that I won the championship! Afterwards when I feel frustrated and want to quit, this unforgettable experience will emerge, and I will try to persist longer.

In the book, Nick mentioned a photographer called Glennis Siverson. Ever since she was a child she had had a poor eyesight. And her vision got even worse after undergoing a cornea transplant. Nevertheless, she “took lemons and made lemonade’’ and thought of herself as being “enabled” instead of being “disabled”. Due to her poor vision, she could no longer care about details of photos and consequently shot more artful pictures with high texture. Thus, she was grateful for soaring higher and farther thanks to the disguised blessing.

“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, standing a little taller…What doesn't kill you makes a fighter, footsteps even lighter.’’ When I read the story about Glennis, the lyrics I've heard and the image of Oprah Gail Winfrey struck my heart and made waves of giant ripples. Oprah was born in a poor single-parent family; moreover, she had suffered sexual abuse, racial discrimination… along the process of her growth. Though her childhood was miserable, she wasn't defeated. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” Through a string of trials, she is now living a jubilant life!

This poem impresses me a lot: “God says YES and gives you what you want. He says NO and gives you BETTER. He says WAIT and gives you the BEST ever.” Life always gives us disguised blessings, yet if you can conquer the fear and frustrations those trails give you and keep on going, the best future you can’t even imagine will unleash to you!

Charles Dodgson, the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland once said, “If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly find fault with, you will not do much!” Too often we are afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone, pretend to be under the mask of being no different from others, and follow what most people would do. We misunderstand that we can keep ourselves from being hurt by settling ourselves in the frame set by secular standpoint. However, the truth is that if we refuse to take the plunge to explore the diversified world, we will also refuse the chance of seeing and tasting the brilliance and colorfulness of a brave new world. “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground. Dare to dream big and live like life is without limits!