[美]丹克拉克/Dan Clark
上学的第一天，教授向化学班的全体同学作了自我介绍，还鼓励我们去结识并不认识的人。我站起来向四周望去，正在这时，有人轻轻拍了拍我的肩膀。
我转过身来，看到一位满脸皱纹、个子矮小的老太太正对着我开心地笑着，她的笑容使她看起来容光焕发。
她说道：“你好，英俊的小伙子。我是罗斯，今年87岁。我能不能拥抱你一下？”
我笑了，热情地回答道：“当然可以。”她给了我一个大大的拥抱。
“你为什么在这么年轻、这么纯真的年纪选择上大学？”我开玩笑地说。
她也开玩笑地回答：“我到这里来就是想找一个有钱的丈夫结婚，生几个孩子，然后退休去旅行。”
“你不是在开玩笑吧？”我问道。我非常好奇，想知道是什么力量使她在这样的年纪去迎接这样的挑战。
“我一直以来的梦想就是接受大学教育，如今我终于如愿以偿了。”她告诉我。
下课之后，我们走进学生会大楼，一起分享了一杯泡沫巧克力奶昔。没过一会儿，我们便成了朋友。在接下来的三个月里，我们每天都会一起离开教室，进行长时间的交谈。我经常入迷似的倾听着这位“时间机器”分享着她的智慧和经验。
整整一个学年，罗斯成了校园里的偶像，不管走到哪里，她都会很轻松地交到朋友。她喜欢打扮自己，因为大家投给她的关注使她兴奋不已，她陶醉于欢乐之中。
在学期即将结束的时候，我们请罗斯在足球宴会上致辞，我永远不会忘记她给我们的谆谆教诲。在主持人介绍之后，罗斯走上了讲台，就在她要开始发表早就准备好的演讲时，几张三寸乘以五寸的卡片从她的手里掉到了地上。她有点沮丧，有点儿尴尬，她向着麦克风倾了倾身子，坦言道：“不好意思，我抖得厉害。我于四旬斋节时戒了啤酒，威士忌太烈了！我无法整理好今天的演讲，如此一来，让我和你们说说我所知道的事情。”我们听完之后哈哈大笑起来，她清了清嗓子，开始了她的演讲：“我们并不是因为老了才不再动了；而是由于停止运动，我们才会变老。想要拥有年轻、快乐、成功，只有四个秘诀：“每天要开怀大笑，要保持幽默感。
“心怀梦想。一旦失去梦想，你就完了。
“了解慢慢变老和不断成长之间有着天壤之别。你19岁，在床上躺整整一年的时间，不做任何有益的事，你变成20岁的人。我87岁，在床上躺一年，不做任何事情，我会变成88岁。每个人都会慢慢变老，这不需要任何才能。我想要说的是，要通过在变化中寻找机会而不断成长。
“不要心怀遗憾。老年人往往会感到遗憾，并非为自己已做的事，而是为自己尚未做过的事。害怕死亡的人都是一些留有遗憾的人。”
她精神十足地以歌曲《玫瑰花》结束了她的演讲，激励我们每一个人去研读歌词，于日常生活中实行歌中传达的箴言。
年终的时候，罗斯取得了多年之前便开始攻读的大学学位。在毕业一周后，罗斯在睡梦中静静地离开了人世。有2000多名大学生参加了她的葬礼，他们用这一行动来表示对这位伟大女士的敬重。她用自身经历告诉我们：实现梦想，永远不会太迟。
The first day of school our professor introduced himself to our chemistry class and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said，“Hi，handsome.My name is Rose.I’m eighty-seven years old.Can I give you a hug？”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may！”And she gave me a giant squeeze.
“Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age？”I asked.
She jokingly replied，“I’m here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple children，and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously，”I asked.I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one！”she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.We became instant friends.Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.I was always mesmerized listening to this“time machine”as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the school year，Rose became a campus icon andeasily made friends wherever she went.She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students.She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and I’ll never forget what she taught us.She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her three-by-five cards on the floor.Frustrated and a bit embarrassed，she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I’m sorry I’m so jittery.I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me！I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”As we laughed，she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old；we grow old because we stop playing.There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy and achieving success.
“You have to laugh and find humor each and every day.
“You’ve got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams，you die.
“There is a giant difference between growing older and growing up.If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old.If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.Anybody can grow older.That doesn’t take any talent or ability.The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.
“Have no regrets.The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do.The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
She concluded her speech by courageously singing“The Rose”。She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At year’s end，Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
