the mirror and I

刘欣96年参加在伦敦举办的英语比赛的演讲稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a perfect setting for my speech today, because we have a mirror right here. And this is the topic, the mirror and I.
I like to look into the mirror. When I was a little girl, I often stood on my toes, trying to find my face in the mirror of the dressing table, which was nearly as high as I was. Now I still like to look into the mirror. When I looked at it, I found the face of a young woman, glowing with maturity, confident in her future and still fascinated with her own reflection.
The fact I like to look into the mirror has to do with my granny, with whom I spent most of my childhood. I remember clearly that one night, I heard her memorying women can’t be seen. Women can’t be seen. I was so confused as I looked into the mirror the next morning to check if I could indeed see myself. Only now as a young woman myself can I understand it was not physical visibility that granny had in her min d.
Granny spent all her life taking care of the family, day-in and day-out. She cooked for her husband and ten children, but we never guess she and other female family members had to eat by the stove in the small kitchen. At family discussions, she was never asked for her opinion. When grandpa passed away, she had to listen to my uncle, her elder son, who became master of the house. Though years of toil, she fulfilled her duty as daughter, wife, and mother, yet as a person, she remained little noticed. If she had seen herself in the mirror of the dressing table, she was never visible in the mirror of society.
I have been living a different life. At home, I made decisions together with the rest of the family; in school, I take charge of various activities, the same as other boys and girls. Not only that, I can see something that granny could not have dreamed of, making decisions for my own future. I could choose from several competitive universities as I came out of high school. At university, I could choose from a range of subject, changing from English literature to business law. And upon graduation, I’m again faced with series of decisions, to further my study or to go to work; to stay in China or to go abroad; to get married right away, or to remain single for a bit longer. It does not matter whether or not I will become famous or rich. But I will treasure the chance to demonstrate my potentials into help other women demonstrate theirs as full member of the society, fully visible in the mirror of history. I will treasure it because the abundance of my choice that I enjoy can only after decades of efforts made by my granny, my mom, and millions of other Chinese women.
However, the choice to be made by me and the others of my generation is a great challenge. The misconception that men are superior to women is still dominating many people’s mind. While remaining courage to compete until certain themselves, we are expected to be quiet, loyal and obedient. This is not very different from what is expected of us as good wife and good mothers. The story of my grandmother and myself, mirrors the lives of millions of other women in China and perhaps in the world. Many of them still live the life of my grandmother, their worth is not yet recognized. It is then the responsibility of a young woman like me to study hard and work hard, so the two will see themselves, and we’ll be seen in the mirror of the society.
This is my dream. This dream I believe is not only shared by many of our grandmothers, mothers and sisters, but also by many of our fathers, brothers, husbands and male colleagues. It will not come true until everyone fully realizes that women can contribute to the society and should be guaranteed the right to. Women hold half the sky. Thank you.