Of course, I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. At first, I wanted be a state trooper, then I wanted to be in the Special Forces. After a while, I decided that I wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers. There was even a period of time that I wanted to be in construction. I wanted to play football in high school; in fact, I still do. But regardless of what I chose, I wanted to make my brothers, sisters and mom proud of me -- not only by being successful in what I chose to do, but also as a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons.

           当然，我也梦想过长大以后想做什么。起初，我想当国民警卫队员，还想过进特种兵部队。后来，我想当一名售装箱大卡车司机。还有一段时间，我甚至想当一名建筑工人。上高中的时候，我喜爱美式足球，直到现在我还时常玩玩。但不管我选择做什么，我的最终目的是要让母亲和兄弟姐妹们为我骄傲--不仅要为我在事业上获得成功而骄傲，更要为我成为了一个受人尊重的人而骄傲。

Surprising as it might seem, basketball wasn't in my plans. One day, my mom cut a rim off an old water barrel and then held it up for me to throw an old rubber ball through. By junior high, I started playing basketball on a team． I loved to compete．There was a positive high I got by going out and playing against other people and working hard to win. For me, it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course but I always put the effort in every day. No matter what I've done, some people wait for my down fall, saying, “ Karl Malone can't do it.” Instead of letting people like that get to me, they are actually my motivation and I continue to prove them wrong every single day. I try to do the best job I can in a positive way on and off the court. I realize that no matter what I'm dealing with, there's somebody else out there who has it a littel bit worse off. I've been there. And I know that without continued hard work, I could be there again.

        也许听起来会有些令人诧异，篮球当时并没有被列在我的人生计划中。记得有一天，母亲把一只旧水桶沿边剪下一个圈来，为我举着，让我投橡皮球玩。到了初中，我开始在篮球队里打球。我喜爱打比赛，它给我一种快感，与人比拼，为了获胜，我吃苦耐劳，常代表学校出去比赛。对我来说，这叫做"天道酬勤"。我并不刻意去争抢成功和荣誉，但是我的的确确每天都在为此付出努力。不管我怎么做，有些人却并不希望看到我成功。他们说："卡尔·马龙不行。"我一点儿也不计较那些不中听的话，相反，它们倒成了我拼搏的动力。不论赛场内外，我总是努力做到最好，每一天以自己的实际行动证明他们的话是错误的。我也发现，不管我怎么样应对，身边总有一些人是在退步。我也曾走过下坡路，所以我明白不进则退的道理。

I am grateful for the life I've enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see these shirts that say “ Basketball is life,” I think Yeah, right! It is not life. It can be exciting. But the important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life．liuxuepaper.com