Goodbye and good luck

When it comes to rituals， what comes into your mind？ The shiny wedding dress？ The oath taken when joining the Party？ The excited faces at graduation ceremonies？ Best wishes given to loved ones at Spring Festival？ The award certificates granted at the annual celebration？

These rituals are landmarks that show the path of our life and the places where we have been. I am in my second year of senior high school. Im always deeply impressed by the smiles， tears and hugs when parents wave goodbye to their children who are beginning their new life at college. It is a ritual described by poets as “to see you go farther and farther and watch you grow up bit by bit”. It is a ritual of great significance both to parents and their children.

When young people start their college life， they will no longer be kids， who used to live under parents protection and care. They have to turn themselves into truly independent individuals， who are stepping into a bigger world， thus having to fight their way for a bright future on their own.

Meanwhile， to parents， sending children to college also means great changes in life， where they need to get accustomed to a house with no kids around it. But kids used to be a big part， if not all， of their life. Just as Long Yingtai， a famous woman writer， has said， “Gradually， I realize that the parents and children relationship only means that you are destined to see him walking away further and further. You stand on this side of the road， and see his figure gradually disappearing at the crossing， and the back shadow of his figure tells you this silently： never chase forward.”

So the farewell between the parents and the college students-to-be is a ritual signifying a new life of change， growth， responsibility and maturity. It is both bitter and sweet. I look forward to it.

譯文：

當談到儀式時，你會想到什么？閃亮的婚紗？入黨時的誓言？畢業典禮上興奮的面孔？春節給親人們最好的祝福？年度慶典頒發的獎狀？

這些儀式標志著我們的生活道路和我們曾經去過的地方。我正在讀高二，每當看到一些父母與在大學開始新生活的孩子們揮手告別時，他們的微笑、淚水和擁抱會深深地印在我的腦海。這應該是被詩人描述的一種儀式：“看著你走得越來越遠，看著你一點一點長大”，所以，對父母和他們的孩子來說，這是一種非常重要的儀式。

同時，對于父母來說，送孩子上大學也意味著生活中的巨大變化，他們需要習慣一個沒有孩子的家，雖然孩子曾經是他們生活中的一個重要部分。正如著名女作家龍應臺所說：“我慢慢地、慢慢地了解到，所謂父女母子一場，只不過意味著，你和他的緣分就是今生今世不斷地在目送他的背影漸行漸遠。你站立在小路的這一端，看著他逐漸消失在小路轉彎的地方，而且，他用背影告訴你：不必追。”因此，父母和即將上大學的孩子之間的告別是一種儀式，象征著一種變化、成長、責任和成熟的新生活。它既苦又甜，我期待著它。

【作者簡介】王雪汀，包頭市九中高二四班，指導教師：苗麗娟，包頭市九中。