Do Anything You Want

Because of the Servicing Learning for Children Center, I have a lot of opportunities to get close to American Children. I still remeber the first impression which they gave me is “crazy”. Because they often shouted loudly while they were playing games and put their hearts and soul completely into the game. Sometimes they made themselves very dirty and even tumbled over the ground. But at that moment, the adults didn’t raise the children from the ground and usually let them pick themselves up and go on playing. Once when I was working at the Children Center, I tried to raise the child who fell down, but to my surprise, he didn’t accept my help. In addition, American adults seldom interfered with their children's game, so children could play with their friends freely and do anything they want. In my view, “Do anything you want” is most admiring place for Chinese children, but usually it’s also far away from them. One of my teachers said to me before I left China: Today we study hard and learn English in order to get a good job so that our children can live as American Children, having the time of their lives. He said that because he had realized that he didn’t want his children to live like us, and our children should do anything they want. Once Jay asked me to his professor party, and the professor comes from China, but his daughter was born in America and living in America. She spoke English fluently and did anything as an American child. Although she looks like a Chinese girl, and except for that, she was a pure American. She just chose anything she enjoys in her life such as clarinet, skiing and Wii—when I was childhood, I never know what I want. Because parents had already told me what I should do. So I didn’t consider this problem until I went abroad. But now, “Do anything I want and go my way” always haunts my mind.