On my first day in a college classroom,I felt like an overgrown child returning to civilization
after having been lost in the forest for thirty years. There I sat, old enough to be a father to most of the students in the room, yet unconfident enough to be their baby brother.
We were crowded elbow to elbow, listening to a professor who looked even younger than the students. I felt uncomfortable and out of place as the professor carefully explained what she expected us to learn. As I listened, I couldn’t help but think of my own oldest daughter who was beginning her first year in college , just like me. I remembered how hard I had tried to help build self-confidence in her and my other children. So why did I suddenly feel like a scared child myself ? When I walked out of that classroom, I had serous doubts about my ability to make it through college. Not until late that night did my thinking change. It was a long-distance telephone call from my daughter, my fellow college freshman, She spoke on the phone about the doubts, worries, and anxieties she was experiencing . She was certain that she’d never succeed at college because of them. How familiar her worries sounded! In my most confident parental voice , I said, “doing your best is all the world asks .”
The next day in class, those words still repeated in my head. When the professor raised a question for the class, nobody, including me, dared to answer. When I looked around at the fear and uncertainty on the young faces in that room, I knew exactly what I had to do: my best. That’s all the world asks. So I raised my hand, and the professor called my name. I spoke.

当我第一天坐在大学的教室里，我感觉自己就像已经迷失在森林里30年后重返文明的世界的老孩子。坐在这里的我，有足够老当这个教室里大部分学生的爸爸。然而却不够自信当这些孩子的兄弟。我们很拥挤地坐着，听着一个看起来比学生还年轻的教授讲课。当她认真地解释想让我们学的内容的方式我觉得不太恰当，让我有点不自然。就当我听着听着，我情不自禁地想起和我一样刚开始她的大学生活的大女儿。我记起了我是多么艰难地在她和其他的孩子之间建立起了自信。又为什么我现在的我突然就成了一个胆怯的孩子？当我走出那个教室，我对自己能不能从那大学毕业产生了很大的疑惑。不久后的一个晚上，我的想法发生了变化。那是我女儿的一个长途电话，她在电话里说，对她的大一同学既期待又担忧，她能确定自己不会取得成功因为那些同学。她的担忧听起来是多么的耳熟啊！作为一个自信的父亲的声音，我对她说，尽力对世界对你的要求做到最好。
次日在教室里，那些声音依然回荡在我的耳边。当那个老师提出一个问题，教室里包括我在内没一个敢起来回答，我清楚地知道我要做的就是做到最佳。然后我就举起了我的手，老师就让我作答。