Dreams have long flown to the sky, and I would like to be that thread guarding you.
You're 23 years old now!
Do you still remember the way you were when you first started?
The Taipei Daxia Middle School Guitar Club was where your dreams began to sprout. A small, crowded guitar classroom was filled with young people full of energy and dreams. They discussed passionately and played with all their might. Others teased them for dreaming big, but 23 years later, you realized it was just the beginning of a dream.
Remember Jingtien Gong (Self-Reliance Tunnel)? You remember her? The 'Monster Mom' – that kind and gentle aunt always brought her homemade chicken legs to the children at night. It was her kindness and understanding that nurtured your growth, and strengthened children's dreams about music. That small room was crowded, but it was full of power.
Finally, no more homework – the teenager riding his bike across Self-Reliance Tunnel might think so. Slowly, your dreams grew bigger and bigger. The small room could no longer accommodate such a vast musical dream; instead, let's go to Number 7 Park to see. Do these benches and this picnic table still look the same as you remember them? I can almost see you, a young, shy boy, a little nervous, a little constrained, but still full of the confidence of a newborn calf. 'Hello everyone, we are Mayday!' This was your first time to boldly declare your name. People won't tease children for dreaming big, because you're becoming more and more mature.
There was the first (100,000 people concert), the first tour concert, the first entry into mainland China, the first Bird's Nest concert, the first Red Hall concert, the first overseas concert… Each 'first' was difficult but happy.
'Perhaps, you also like Mayday?' The girl shyly looked at the boy across from her. This is the countless times your name has been mentioned, perhaps more in essays. Young people always like to talk about youth and dreams; in many people's eyes, you are the symbol of youth and dreams. But I know you are more than that. The former teenagers – now middle-aged men – have defined your scope so broadly that it's impossible to describe your inner self with just a few words. Love and ideals, dreams and reality, self and others… all sorts of relationships are interpreted by you; your voice broke through the island and exited Asia, spreading farther and farther. But I still remember that thin headphone cord, that's where we first met. I will remember the surprise and emotion I felt when I first heard your voice. I will remember the winter solstice in senior year when you suddenly appeared like a timely rain, telling us, 'Difficulties will eventually pass, be brave!' I will remember every crazy night we spent together, listening to your breathing, and the world fell asleep in dreams. I will remember every time you came to mind, at that moment, I would plug in the headphone cord again and meet you, and you would say, 'I understand you.'
Dreams have flown to the sky, and I'm willing to be that cord that protects you. Happy 23rd birthday, I'll be waiting for you when I'm 80 years old.
