Needless to say, it was a big change going from selling drugs to flipping
Whoppers. The day I was arrested at school, I had $1,200 cash on me. Suddenly
I was making minimum wage and wouldn’t come close to seeing that kind of
money after a month’s worth of mopping floors and working the grill.
It took time to adjust to this new lifestyle. I saw guys rolling around in
new cars, having new clothes, new Jordans — reminders of all the things I
couldn’t afford. Old “friends” would come in and make fun of me because of
my uniform. But I knew I couldn’t go back to jail — no matter how tempting
the lure of quick money was. At Bray Community Center in Racine, where I
first started playing organized basketball, there’s a photo of 21 black men,
many of whom I used to run with. All were under the age of 25, and now they
are all dead. I knew I had to turn my life around.
从贩卖毒品到翻动华堡(汉堡王招牌食品)，这之间的巨大改变无需赘言。我在学校被逮捕
的那天，身上有1200镁的现金，现在我却在领最低工资，就算我在这里拖地、烤烤东西一
个月，我也无法拿到那么多的钱。
我花了些时间才适应了新的生活方式，看着那些家伙开着新车到处溜搭，穿着新衣服、新
的乔丹鞋，就好像在提醒自己我什么东西都买不起。那些"旧朋友"会来找我，并且嘲笑我
身上的制服，但我知道自己绝不能再回到监狱，无论那些轻轻松松就能赚来的钱有多么诱
人。
在雷辛的布雷社区中心，我第一次开始打正规的篮球。有张照片里头有21个黑人，其中很
多人过去都曾跟我一起，当时他们的年纪全都在25岁以下，而现在他们全都死了。
我知道我必须翻转我的人生。
After being released from Ethan Allen School for Boys, I enrolled at Park
High School. Though I excelled on the court, I would make another decision
that would greatly benefit my future. My family and members of my community
rallied behind me to help me get into a prep school. I would transfer to
Maine Central Institute, a prep school in Pittsfield, Maine. That was a big
turning point in my life. Because of my on-court performance there, I
developed a relationship with UConn coach Jim Calhoun.
Receiving a scholarship to play at UConn was truly a life-defining
experience. No one in my family had ever gone away to a four-year university.
Everyone in my family felt like the bar had been raised. A life of crime was
no longer the answer.
从伊森艾伦男校被释放之后，我进入了公园高中。虽然在这里我能在场上胜过其他人，我
仍然做了一个对我的未来大有助益的决定，我的家人和社区成员做我的后盾，帮助我进入
一所预备学校。我转学到缅因中央学院，一所在缅因州的预备学校，那是我人生中一个重
要的转捩点，凭借在场上的优异表现，我和康乃狄克大学的教练Jim Calhoun有了交情。
获得康乃狄克大学的奖学金并且在那里打球，确实重新定义了我的人生。我的家人中从来
没有任何人上过四年制的大学，每个家人都感觉好像我提升了大家的水平，罪恶的人生再
也不是答案。
http://i.imgur.com/Ru6Z3SL.jpg?1
It’s been 20 years since I spent two weeks alone in that 10-by-12-foot cell,
but I remember it like it was yesterday. My mother and I reflect on our times
of adversity all the time. To recognize the delta between where we are now
and where we once were — it’s surreal and it’s a blessing.
Now I speak about my journey to younger generations who are at-risk because I
was them. I didn’t have an easy, structured upbringing and then suddenly
became an NBA All-Star and champion. I’ve spent time in jail. I lived in a
neighborhood infested with drugs and gang culture. I grew up seeing people
get stabbed and shot. Despite all of that, by the grace of God, hard work and
the devotion of my mother, I’m in the position that I’m in today. Younger
generations need to see a real, tangible example of making it.
Maybe I went through all of this to serve them.
距离我在那约十平方英尺的小牢房独处两个礼拜已经过了二十年，但我依然清楚记得宛如
昨日。我妈和我总是会回想当时遇到的逆境，想到现在的我们和曾经的我们，这之间的差
距是如此的不真实与受到神的眷顾。
现在我把我的人生旅程和那些在危险之中的年轻人讲述，因为我曾经就像他们一样。
我没有受到良好的教养，然后突然就变成NBA的全明星、拿到冠军。我在监狱待了一段时
间，我曾经住在到处充斥着毒品与黑帮文化的地区，在成长过程中我看着人们被刺杀或枪
杀。
尽管遭遇了这些，由于上帝的眷顾、自身的努力，和我妈的付出，我成为了现在的我。
年轻人们必须看到一个真实的、血淋淋的例子才能深切体会，或许我经历这一切就是为了
对他们有所贡献。
Caron Butler
http://i.imgur.com/IrEKRt2.jpg