Christmas / 聖誕節

寫申請學校文件時，最後要寫拿到學位之後對自己的期許，例如說希望進哪一家公司服務，剛好之前聽到某位同好說，能夠進橙果工作簡直就是夢想中的夢想，對於我來說寫作不是問題，但這部份卻難倒我，因為我最大的喜悅很渺小，就是為我喜歡的人畫畫寫故事，這樣的答案只會被批評為沒有野心、不實際，這種能落實在日常生活中的目標卻不能寫進去，我覺得很可惜。

While I was preparing my personal statement in the process of applying for schools, I was required to write about my goal after graduation such as working in a certain company I’d always dreamed of. I happened to hear an acquaintance mention her wish of entering the new-brand design company DEM Inc here. For me, writing didn’t pose any problem, but this part did baffle me. My biggest dream is very humble. It is just about writing and illustrating stories for people I love. However, this answer would only be criticized as ambitionless and impractical. I found it a pity that I couldn’t write such a goal which I could actually carry out in my everyday life.

看似是最簡單卻又最難的，我決定把這個心願付諸實現，在我和班上同學的最後一個聖誕節裡。每個人得到一句鼓勵的話語，搭配我最近研發的阿茲提克皇后娃娃圖像，我畫了兩套六十多張的卡片，把自己變成大家未來的回憶。

Thus, I decided to put into practice the seemingly easy but difficult plan. On my last Christmas with my current students, everyone would get a card featuring my latest invention—Aztec Queen Baby along with an inspirational quote on the back. I drew two sets of cards, 66 in total with no exactly identical pictures because I wanted to leave pieces of me for them as a form of memories.

因為太喜歡我的善班，我在這個月初決定把之前展覽過的畫送給班上同學，聖誕節的前一天，我們開了一場完全無金錢交易的拍賣會，每個要競標的小朋友只要說出自己為甚麼想要得到某幅畫，並且能夠在畢業之前回贈一幅畫，其他的就留給籤筒決定，除了競標場面瀕臨失控之外，我沒有想到好幾個人因為得不到畫情緒幾乎崩潰，還有好些人看起來很沮喪，讓我也心情低落了一會，本來只是要把我的過去做個整理，卻發現那些片段被孩子們很珍貴地對待，我是所有人裡收穫最大的。

I love my own class so much that I came up with the decision to give away my past exhibited paintings. On Christmas Eve, we held an auction without monetary trades. Everyone keen on a certain work had to say why she had to get it and give me her drawing before graduation. The rest would be decided by the lot they drew. The whole class went almost wild nearing the end, with some people on the verge of breaking down. I felt kind of bad for not having enough works for everybody. I had meant nothing but to say goodbye to my past, but I was surprised to learn that those moments were so treated with care by the girls. I was the person that gained the most through the experience.

不知道以後會怎麼樣，但是生活的每一天，我看到了更多更多畫畫的理由，這是我發亮的聖誕節禮物。

I don’t know how my future will turn out, but every day in my life, I see more and more reasons for drawing, and they are my glittering Christmas gifts.