Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
“No...no...I can’t. It’s impossible...” With my flustered hands typing on the keyboard, my mind successively flashed through memories. I saw my classmates happily playing together while I could only stand by and watch. How I was forced to keep silent and only could occasionally nod for agreement when I was in a team. Some laughter and ironic words irresistibly slipped in my ears whenever I tried to speak out my own opinion.
“I have never been in the center with supporters around. How could I be a leader?” I mocked, staring at myself from the screen. “Yes you can, because we are with you.” Zhou responded.
Silence lingered in the chat room. I slowly raised my head with deep struggle. In the dim sky, a star was still striving to shine, although the moonlight masked its brightness. The light of a little star can be appreciated by millions of people. It could never be discovered if it did not have the courage to shine in the first place.
More importantly, I was really eager to do something no matter big or small, as long as I could help others. Language barriers had created great difficulties for Chinese aviation fans, as the majority of foreign documentaries lacked Chinese subtitles. If I took the position, I would be able to lead more amateurs to fill in the blanks. “For my love of aviation, I must have a try.” I eventually made the decision, with the image of star twinkling in my eyes.
As arranged, Zhou and I recruited several translators. Although I feared conversation with strangers, I had to know about each teammate as a leader, communicating with others was necessary. Surprisingly, conversation was not as dreadful as I expected, once I took my first step I got accustomed.
However, we encountered a great obstacle when processing our translation works for documentaries “Air crash investigation”. Posting it on Baidu PostBars was our plan; but this was thwarted by the webmasters who organized a similar translation group like ours. Fearing we would pare their cake, they abused their authority, limited others’ rightful freedom to publish their works. Our account was paused for three months and our posts were continuously deleted. I never was an eloquent person willing to self disclose, so certainly persuasion and negotiation did not seem to be my strengths. Still, I firmly took the position because I needed to be an example for my teammates. Essentially, I believe that a free community built for public benefit should not become the slave of personal benefit.
Yet from the moment they spoke, “Your team has just started for weeks, with maybe ten teammates and around twenty supporters. What makes you confident enough to face us?” I knew that a peaceful conservation had no effect, but it did not mean that all was ended. I thought to myself, “I will never flinch this time.” We directly reported the injustice to the head office and denounced it in public. Integrity was on our side, so was the public’s voice. We gained justice ultimately after months of struggle. As an award, our courage to battle against inequity won over 40 translators to join us.
It would be unimaginable three years ago, however nowadays we are advancing toward translation works of flight simulators. Recently we signed a five-year commercial contract with PlayWay S.A, a leading Polish game publisher, indicating our team’s success and a promising future.
I am again looking at the stars in the night, recalling path with thorns. It all seems like a dream, with me as the introverted girl who realizes her potential as a leader. This girl does not fear communication, never feels afraid to lead and is always ready to grapple with injustice. She had experienced toughness, but she broke it through, tried her best to shine in darkness. She has become an optimistic, courageous and confident me.