致敬我的英文写作老师巴拉克·奥巴马先生
Barack Obama may be known to all of you as the 44th president of the United States, to most of you as an affable and wise man, to some of you as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. But to me, he is Prof. Obama, a well-versed scholar who has influenced my English writing more than anyone else.
It all started back in 2004. I was a sophomore in high school and spent the summer in Evanston, Illinois as an exchange student through AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service), an international youth exchange program that matches open-minded, adventurous teenagers to willing host families from around the world.
A Dutch acquaintance whom I had met in Pingyao the previous summer was a former exchange student of AFS and had a great time in New York. Impressed by my English fluency and curiosity about foreign cultures, he encouraged me to apply. I did and my confident personal statement worked.
Why Evanston? Well, it was pure chance. I closed my eyes and randomly pointed at the American map. My finger rested on Lake Michigan, and Evanston was the nearest city. It turned out to be a great place to spend the summer, as it was surprisingly cool, with the hottest days not exceeding 83°F, or 28°C. A half-hour drive north of Chicago, Evanston is an affluent city and home to Northwestern University.
One day in July, as I went home, I saw my host parents gaze at the television. "I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. America!" As these words came out of the mouth of the African American speaker, the crowd cheered. I was hooked.
I was told it was the Democratic National Convention keynote address, and the speaker was supporting John Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate. His name is Barack Obama, an Illinois state senator and constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
To my delight, Obama was soon going to teach a summer course on memoir writing at UChicago. As it was only open to students at UChicago, I needed to ask for his permission to audit the classes, and thankfully, I got the go-ahead.
Prof. Obama is a born storyteller and a writer in his own right. His 1995 biography Dreams from My Father was well received. He used many excerpts of the book in class to illustrate his points on writing. Use plain language; pay attention to cadence ("write not with pens, but ears"); be honest; be daring.
These key takeaways have guided me ever since. It's been 16 years since I sat in that classroom at UChicago. Prof. Obama has never stopped writing himself. He is writing about himself—a memoir during his years in the White House. I am sure he is practicing what he preaches, and the writing principles he taught will surely come alive in his upcoming new book.
Prof. Obama, Leslie, I and Josh
at the University of Chicago
孟庆伟 Justin
个人微信 ID：justinqmeng
现象级英语联合创始人
《经济学人》11 年研究者
雅思写作 8 分，口语 8 分
题图：a doctored photo that should not be taken seriously
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