【明報專訊】When Rebecca was six years old, she loved watching horse racing. That was why she always dreamt of being a jockey (騎師).

"Do you know Moreira (莫雷拉)? He's one of the best jockeys in Hong Kong!" She crowed over what she knew about jockeying.

"So what? You think you will be somebody like him? Look at you! Just a stupid girl!" One of her classmates laughed at her, and the ripple of laughter went around the classroom.

That might be just another joke. But her classmates' tease still rankled.

She started asking her dad to enrol her in an equestrian (馬術) class. At first her dad agreed, but then suddenly changed his mind after knowing the fee.

But then how could he handle his daughter? He bought a hobby horse from a toy shop.

"Hey Rebecca, try this gorgeous hobby horse. You're too young to join classes. A hobby horse helps enhance your horsemanship." What a joke. But Rebecca "rode" on it every day, believing that it would upgrade her skills in some ways.

A hobby horse needs the "rider" to do the running, otherwise it's just a bamboo stick with a plush horse's head. So she spent hours running with a stick instead of riding a real horse.

Years on, Rebecca no longer believed in her father's lie. She hid the hobby horse and concentrated on her studies.

The annual sports day came and each student should take part in at least one event. Rebecca picked an event randomly, and that's a 100-metre sprint. What else could it be? She had spent every single day practicing running over the years!

The day came.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Rebecca was running at full stretch. Amazingly, she didn't spend a lot of energy to be comfortably ahead. She left her opponents far behind and came first in the match.

She realised that she had just shown her superior running skills.

"My years of training actually bear fruit (取得成果)!" She discovered what she truly excelled in and loved. She found she was willing to spend hours running not because she loved riding horses. Running was her true passion. And it always was.

◆Food for thought

Only by trial and error (反覆試驗) could we discover what we are truly good at. Have you discovered what you love?

■Glossary

crow over (v phr) 對……沾沾自喜

rankle (v) 使人耿耿於懷

plush (adj) 絨布的

at full stretch (idiom) 盡全力

[Smarties' Power English 第235期]