我的英雄之旅

（Editor’s Note: On April 19, four entrepreneurs shared their stories at the Aurora Public Library. Tiziana Knox, the founder and educator of Aptus Learning, was one of the four speakers. She is also the co-ordinator of the Newcomer Women's Meet-Up organized by the library. Below is the script of her speech that night. )

编者按：今年4月19日，奥罗拉公共图书馆邀请4位企业家分享他们的创业和人生故事，Tiziana Knox是其中的一位。她也是奥罗拉公共图书馆每两周一次的女性聚会的协调人。以下是她当晚演讲的内容。）

Tonight I am going to talk to you about The Hero’s Journey. Has anyone heard of the Hero’s Journey? I have and you have – and WE ALL WILL – continue to - experience The Hero’s Journey.

今晚我将谈谈“英雄之旅”。在座的谁听说过“英雄之旅”？我已经历，我们所有人都会——而且继续会——经历“英雄之旅”。

Before I walk you through my Hero’s Journey, I want to share with you some background information. My parents immigrated to Canada in the 60s, in their early 20s. My parents came to Canada with a 4-year old and a toddler – that’s me in the yellow dress and here with my sister when I’m a bit older. Both my sister and I started school not knowing a word of English.

在我谈我的“英雄之旅”之前，我想和你们分享一些背景资料。上世纪60年代，当时20多岁的我的父母移民来加拿大。我父母来加拿大时，带着一个四岁的孩子，还有一个蹒跚学步的孩子——我，穿黄色裙子的那个。在这张照片中的我长大些了。我和我的姐姐上学的时候，一个英语单词都不会说。

And although my father was very proud of his Italian heritage, all I wanted – was to be what I perceived to be Canadian, which was English or Anglo-saxon. I wanted so much to be Canadian and everything that went with it. One way I did this was to devour books written in English. I would read and re-read the few books we had, and then take out more books from our local library.

尽管我父亲很为他的意大利祖裔文化感到自豪，我却仅仅想成为加拿大人，我当时的“加拿大人”的概念——英裔或者说盎格鲁-撒克逊人。我是如此想成为一个加拿大人，以及想要和此相关的任何事物。其中一个方式是大量阅读英文书本，我读了一遍又一遍家里的一些书，然后从社区图书馆借阅更多的书。

My favourite thing to do as a child, was to play school. I would pretend I was the teacher and my younger cousins would be my students. I would design lessons based around books that I borrowed from the library and prompt my “students” to answer questions and learn spelling. There were comprehension questions and thinking questions - although at the time I didn’t know they were called that. My “students” weren’t as dedicated to learning as I was to teaching. But that didn’t stop me, that only made me work harder to prepare lessons that were interactive and fun.

孩提时我最喜欢做的事情是扮演老师。我扮演老师，我的堂／表弟妹们是我的学生。我会根据我从图书馆借来的书设计课程，让我的“学生们”回答问题和学习拼写。其中包括“理解性问题”和“思考性问题”——尽管当时我不知道这些专用名词。我的“学生们”的学习态度没有像我对教学那么投入。但这并没有阻止我，这令我更认真地备课，令它们互动和有趣。

I tell this story because I’m going to come back to it. Life leaves us clues of who we were meant to be. Often, when we look back, we can see patterns developing.

我告诉你们这个故事。因为我在演讲的后半部分还会回到这个故事。生活留给我们一些线索，暗示我们注定将成为怎样的人。回首往事时，我们往往能看到一些逐渐成形中的事。

What is the Hero’s Journey? The Hero’s Journey was first identified by American scholar Joseph Campbell. If you haven’t heard of him, maybe you know the famous quote, “Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” 

什么是“英雄之旅”？“英雄之旅”这个词最早是由美国学者Joseph Campbell提出的。如果你没有听说过他，你可能知道他的一句名言：“跟随你的梦想，不要感到恐惧；在你不知道它们将打开的情况下，门将为你打开。”

Sound familiar? The Hero’s Journey appears in drama, storytelling, myth, and religious ritual. It appears in “Star Wars”, where young Luke Skywalker doubts his abilities to be a Jedi Master. It appears in Paulo Coelho’s famous novel, “The Alchemist”, where the boy crosses the dessert in search of his treasure. And, most importantly, it appears in psychological development. According to Campbell, we all have our own hero’s journey that we need to experience, and it is through this journey that we realize our potential and become who we were meant to be.

听起开是否感到耳熟？“英雄之旅”出现在戏剧、故事、神话和宗教仪式里。它出现在《星际大战》中——年轻的路克·天行者怀疑自己是否具备成为绝地武士的能力。在保罗·科埃略（Paulo Coelho）的著名小说《牧羊少年奇幻之旅》（又译为《炼金术士》， “The Alchemist”）里——那个少年穿越沙漠寻找珍宝。而且，更重要的是，它出现在心理发展过程中。根据Campbell的说法，我们每个人都会经历自己的英雄之旅。……这个旅程让我们每个人意识到自己的潜力以及成为我们注定要成为的人。

The Hero’s Journey goes like this. The Hero has to leave his/her Ordinary World where everything is Known and comfortable, past the Threshold to what is Unknown and uncomfortable. In the Unknown, there are Setbacks and Obstacles, and finally a Transformation. 

英雄之旅的轨迹是这样的：英雄需要离开他／她的平凡世界——那里每个事物都是他熟悉的和感到舒适的；跨过门槛，到达一个不熟悉和感到不适的地方。在不熟悉的地方，那里有挫败和障碍；最终是转型。

After the Transformation, the hero emerges from the Unknown back to his/her Ordinary World to reintegrate into his or her community with new skills (called the Elixir of Life).

转型之后，英雄从不熟悉的世界回到他／她的平凡世界，带着新的技能（名为“灵丹妙药”） 重新融入他／她的社区。

The Ordinary World, for me was when I was married and I was a mother. I had my Early Childhood Diploma so I started running workshops for Child Care Centres and Nursery Schools. I also ran children’s programs right here at the Aurora Public Library. Life was good. Why should I complain? But, I couldn’t help feeling that there was something missing. I really wanted to be a teacher  - to teach - as I had done in my childhood with my cousins. In the Hero’s Journey, before we set out of our comfort zone, we may feel some Reluctance because of living in the Known, which is comfortable.

我的平凡世界曾经是：已婚，身为母亲。我获得了早教证书，开始为托儿所举行工作坊。而且，我就在奥罗拉公共图书馆也举办了为孩童提供的项目。生活很舒适。我有什么好抱怨的？但是，我情不自禁地感到有一种欠缺。我很想成为一名教师，教书——就像我在孩提时代对我的堂／表弟妹们做的那样。在英雄之旅中，在我们跨出我们的舒适区前，我们会有一种不情愿，因为生活在熟悉的事物中，很舒适。

Then there is the Separation. Separating from the Known to the Unknown can go one of two ways: You can go willingly or you will be pushed out. You can probably relate to this. The feeling of being pushed out could have happened when a relationship ended for you, or you lost your job, or you moved to a new country.

然后，是脱离。与熟悉事物的脱离，进入一个不熟悉的世界，你可能经历两种形式中的一种：你是心甘情愿的；或者是被迫的。 你们是不是也有类似的经历？你感到是被迫的，这也许发生在一段个人关系终结的时候，或者，在你失去一份工作的时候；或者移居到一个新的国家的时候。

My push came in the form of the end of my marriage. One day, which at the time seemed out of the blue, my husband decided to leave our marriage of 10 years. At first I was shocked and very upset, but by being pushed out of what was comfortable and known, I discovered that the idea of going back to school to become a teacher was now pulling me harder than before - as if I had no choice.

我的外力是我的婚姻的终结。有一天，在当时看来似乎毫无征兆地，我丈夫决定离开我们为时10年的婚姻。起先，我感到震惊，感到很难过，但是我发现，重返学校成为教师的想法对我来说变得更强烈——就如我别无选择。

Going back to school was uncomfortable to say the least. It was like being lost in a big ocean. I was 38 years old, a single mother and enough self-doubt to sink a boat. My own mother couldn’t understand why I didn’t move into her basement and focus on raising my child. I was overwhelmed and I wanted to give up !

重返学校让我感到非常不适。我就像迷失在一个浩瀚的海洋里。我当时38岁，一个单身母亲，而且充满了自我怀疑，觉得面临失败。我母亲不能理解我为什么不搬回她的地下室，集中精力抚养我的孩子。我感到被压垮了，我想放弃！

I did finish my degree, but I ran out of money and couldn’t continue Bachelor of Education which would allow me to teach. The consolation prize was a fabulous job in non-profit, helping newcomers to Canada (as my parents had been) find employment in Canada. I designed workshop about the Canadian Workplace Culture, I helped them create resumes and coached them for their job interviews, I felt so valued and I wanted to stay there. I was tired and this job suited me so well - you can say it was comfortable. 

我最终获得了我的学位，但我陷入了财务困难，不再能继续学习以获得教育学士学位，而获得教师资格需要这个学位。我获得的“安慰奖”是在一个非牟利机构获得了一份很棒的工作，帮助新移民（就如我的父母当年那样）在加拿大就业。我开设了关于加拿大工作场所文化的工作坊，我帮助他们撰写简历，帮助他们练习面试。我感到这份工作很有价值，我想继续在那里工作。我感到疲倦，这份工作如此适合我——你可以说，这很舒适。

According to Joseph Campbell, one of the things that appears along our journey when we are about to give up or when we get comfortable again is the Benevolent Guide. Can you recall someone in your life that nudged you along? or believed in you when you did not believe in yourself?

根据 Joseph Campbell， 当我们想放弃的时候，或者当我们再次感到舒适之时，一个人物会在我们的旅行中出现：那就是“善良的向导”。你能想起在你生活中一直在轻轻推动你的那个人，或者在你不相信自己的时候相信你的那个人？

Like Yoda who appeared to Luke Skywalker when he was about to give up or the Good Witch appeared to Dorothy when it was time to go home, the Benevolent Guide appears when we need him or her most. You probably heard Paulo Coelho’s quote: “When you want something; all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

就如路克·天行者想放弃时的尤达，或者是 Dorothy回家时出现的好女巫，在你最需要他／她的时候，“善良的向导”会出现。你很有可能听过保罗·科埃略的名言：“当你需要什么的时候，整个宇宙密谋帮助你获得。”

My benevolent guide was a man I met at work, who later became my new husband. He was thinking about going back to school to get his Bachelor of Education (the certification that I left behind). So, the two of us went back to school!

我的善良向导是一个我在工作中遇到的男人，他后来成为我的新丈夫。他当时正在考虑重返学校获得他的教育学士学位（我没有完成的证书）。因此，我们两人都返回了学校！

And as it is with the Hero’s Journey, nothing is easy. When we graduated from school, the job market was tight. I had to go work for a small private school instead of public education that offered good salaries and benefits. There I quickly became the English Department head and got certified to be a Guidance Counsellor. I ran programs for my students on my own time in: English Enhancement, Note and Test-taking strategies, Time management, and Goal Setting.

英雄之旅，并非坦途。当我们毕业的时候，就业市场不佳。我不得不去了一家小型私校，而不是提供好的薪资和福利的公校。在那里，我很快成了英语部的主管，并获得证书成为一名学生升学辅导员。我还利用我自己的时间为学生提供以下项目：改善英语；笔记和考试策略；时间管理和目标设置

That’s when the Transformation happened for me. I realized what the fit was. My students got better grades from participating in my programs and therefore, what I was teaching really worked!

这是我的转型发生之时。我找到了发挥自己特长的事情。我的学生在参加了我举办的项目后取得了更好的成绩，因此我的教学方法发挥了作用！

From the transformation, the hero receives the Elixir of Life. this is the skill you gained and the belief in yourself of your potential. As Glinda says to Dorothy: “You’ve always had the power!”

英雄从转型中获得“灵丹妙药”——这是你取得的技能，以及你对自己潜力的自信。就如Glinda对Dorothy所言：“你一直很有力量！”

So when I Reintegrated into my society. I did so with my husband, and we started a business called APTUS LEARNING.

And, just like the hero, our students work on their skills, to take responsibility for their learning, both which help them to get better grades and better options for post-secondary education.

因而，当我重新融入社会时，我和我的丈夫一起，我们创办了一家名为APTUS LEARNING的公司。

正如英雄，我们的学生们提升他们的技能，发挥他们学习的主管能动性——两者都能帮助他们改善成绩，获得更好的高等教育的机会。

What we need to know about the Hero’s Journey:

It’s not easy;

It will be uncomfortable;

You will feel inadequate and alone;

Fear is a sign that you are headed in the right direction;

And lastly, it is worth it!

关于英雄之旅，我们需要了解：

1. 并非坦途；

2. 让人感到不适；

3. 你会感到自己的不足和孤独；

4. 恐惧是你走向正确方向的迹象；

5. 最后，这很值得！

After all - Joseph Campbell said: “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” So, follow your dream !! Pursue what you truly Desire !! And Good Luck (to you) on your HERO’S JOURNEY !!

然而， Joseph Campbell 说过： “生命的特权是成为你注定的那个人。”因此，跟随你的梦想！！追寻你真正想追寻的！！祝你们的英雄之旅顺利！！

(All photos are supplied by Tiziana Knox

所有图片由Tiziana Knox提供

Chinese translation by Yafang Shi

中文翻译：施雅芳)