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"I am where opera and football collide."
“我的故事是歌剧和橄榄球碰撞的故事。”
Ta'u had a long journey to the United States from Tonga.
Ta'u是千里迢迢从汤加来到美国的。
But his journey to center stage in the opera house took much longer.
但相比起来，他走向歌剧舞台中心的路要比他来美国的路漫长得多。
"My name is Ta'u Pupu'a. I am an operatic tenor.
“我叫Ta'u Pupu'a，我是一名演唱歌剧的男高音。
And I am an immigrant from the Kingdom of Tonga."
我是从汤加王国移民到美国的。”
"My name is Minnie Driver.
“我叫Minnie Driver。
I am an actress, a singer, and I am an immigrant.
我是一名演员，也是一名歌手，同时，我也是移民。
I believe nothing is more American than its immigrants,
在我看来，移民才是最具美国特色的存在，
so I'm teaming up with Great Big Story to celebrate those that have come here and left their mark."
这一次，我将携手《伟大的故事》一起致敬那些来到这片土地，在这里留下了独特印记的人物。”
"When we moved to America, I was seven years old.
“刚来美国的时候，我才7岁。
My parents wanted us nine kids to have a education, and so, America was the land of opportunity.
我父母希望我们9个孩子都能接受教育，所以，美国就成了我们的希望。
I started playing football when I was 10.
我10岁就开始打橄榄球了。
I was fast, I was strong.
我速度很快，又强壮，
I knew that my vehicle into college was through playing football."
那时候我就知道，橄榄球就是我进入大学的通行证。”
It turns out Ta'u was a pretty good linesman.
事实上，Ta'u是一名非常棒的线锋球员。
So good, in fact, that when he graduated from college, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns,
棒到什么程度？他大学一毕业，就被克利夫兰布朗队选中了，
but it was his taste in music that often put him in the spotlight.
但大多数时候，让他成为焦点的并不是他的球技，而是他的音乐品味。
"Before a game, everybody's listening to rock 'n' roll, heavy metal,
“赛前所有人都会听听摇滚啊，重金属啊，
and I was the person on the side listening to "O Sole Mio", something to you know, inspire me.
而我就是那个在边上听《我的太阳》（世界三大男高音之一帕瓦罗帝的代表作）的家伙，那种音乐才会鼓舞到我。
And then, I got injured and I broke the arch of my foot and I didn't know what to do because football was the only thing I knew.
后来我受伤了，伤的还是脚弓，我就懵了，因为除了橄榄球，我什么也不懂。
A year later, I just that I decided that I better follow my other love."
一年后，我决定，我应该试试我其他的爱好。”
So, Ta'u moved to New York to pursue his other passion, opera.
于是，Ta'u搬到了纽约，去追求他的另一个爱好——歌剧。
"I didn't know a single soul here.
“那会儿我在这儿是一个熟人也没有。
I didn't know, like, how do you become an opera singer?
也不知道要怎么样才能成为一名歌剧演员。
The only thing I knew from my playbooks and playing football was you gotta have a plan.
从我的剧本和我打球的经验来看，我只知道，首先你得有个计划。
So I thought to myself, well, to meet people, if I get a job working in a restaurant across the street from Juilliard,
于是我就想着，先结交几个朋友再说，如果我到茱莉亚学院（“音乐界哈佛”）对面的餐厅打工的话，
you're gonna have operatic singers, conductors coming in."
就一定能碰到歌剧歌手，指挥家什么的。”
His plan worked.
他的计划成功了。
He met a man who helped him secure an audition at the Juilliard School of Music.
他真的遇到了一个人，那个人帮他获得了一次到茱莉亚音乐学院试唱的机会。
"I got into Juilliard on a full scholarship.
“我拿到了茱莉亚的全额奖学金。
I was sort of playing catch up because my colleagues were learning their solfeggio when they were 17, 18 years old."
那时候我基本就是恶补基本功，因为我的同事都是17,18岁就开始视唱练习了。”
And after three years of rigorous training, he graduated from Juilliard's top program.
经过三年的艰苦训练，他顺利从茱莉亚学院的尖子生项目毕业。
He has since traveled the world singing in opera houses and on concert stages.
从那以后，他一直在世界各地的歌剧院和音乐厅演唱。
And today, among opera fans, Ta'u Pupu'a is a big name.
如今，在歌剧迷圈子里，Ta'u Pupu'a堪称是鼎鼎大名的人物。
"I was blessed to run around and sack quarterbacks, and now I sing love songs to sopranos.
“我很幸运能到处跑，能裁四分卫，现在还能跟女高音唱情歌。
I like to live in the moment, and my moment now is I am very happy to be an opera singer.
我喜欢活在当下，我现在的当下就是，我很高兴能成为一名歌剧演员。
To a young Polynesian that is chasing their dreams, set your goals high, dream big, and make it reality."
要说对年轻的波利尼西亚人有什么寄语的话，我希望你们能勇敢地追求你们的梦想，把目标定得高一点，理想设立得远大一点，然后，把它变为现实。”
