I was fifteen months old, a happy carefree（无忧无虑的） kid until the day I fell. It was a bad fall. I landed on a glass rabbit which cut my eye badly enough to blind it. Trying to save the eye, the doctors stitched（缝纫，装订） the eyeball together where it was cut, leaving a big ugly scar in the middle of my eye. The attempt failed, but my mama, in all of her wisdom, found a doctor who knew that if the eye were removed entirely, my face would grow up badly distorted（扭曲的） , so my scarred, sightless, cloudy and gray eye lived on with me. And as I grew, this sightless eye in so many ways controlled me.
I walked with my face looking at the floor so people would not see the ugly me. Sometimes people, even strangers, asked me embarrassing questions or made hurtful remarks. When the kids played games, I was always the "monster." I grew up imagining that everyone looked at me with disdain（蔑视） , as if my appearance were my fault. I always felt like I was a freak.
Yet Mama would say to me, at every turn, "Hold your head up high and face the world." It became a litany（冗长而枯燥的陈述） that I relied on. She had started when I was young. She would hold me in her arms and stroke my hair and say, "If you hold your head up high, it will be okay, and people will see your beautiful soul." She continued this message whenever I wanted to hide.
Those words have meant different things to me over the years. As a little child, I thought Mama meant, "Be careful or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking." As an adolescent, even though I tended to look down to hide my shame, I found that sometimes when I held my head up high and let people know me, they liked me. My mama's words helped me begin to realize that by letting people look at my face, I let them recognize the intelligence and beauty behind both eyes even if they couldn't see it on the surface.
In high school I was successful both academically and socially. I was even elected class president, but on the inside I still felt like a freak. All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mama and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, "Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the beauty that is inside."
When I met the man who became my partner for life, we looked each other straight in the eye, and he told me I was beautiful inside and out（从里到外地，彻底地） . He meant it. My mama's love and encouragement were the spark that gave me the confidence to overcome my own doubt. I had faced adversity（逆境，不幸） , encountered my problems head on, and learned not only to appreciate myself but to have deep compassion for others.
"Hold your head up high," has been heard many times in my home. Each of my children has felt its invitation. The gift my mama gave me lives on in another generation.
相关单词：stitched
stitched解释：v.缝，缝补，缝合( stitch的过去式和过去分词 )；[引申]把某物连在一起
stitched例句：
If the wound is stitched up skillfully,it will hardly leave a mark. 如果伤口缝合得好，不会落下什么伤疤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
She stitched a pocket on the new apron. 她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
相关单词：scar
scar解释：n.伤疤，伤痕，创伤
scar例句：
This scar is from the bite of a dog.这是狗咬后留下的伤疤。
The tragedy left a scar on her mind.这个悲剧给她造成精神上的创伤。
相关单词：entirely
entirely解释：ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
entirely例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
相关单词：distorted
distorted解释：adj.被歪曲的
distorted例句：
Her distorted face was ablaze with rage. 在狂怒之下，她那张扭曲的脸涨得通红。
His face was distorted by rage. 他因发怒而脸色大变。
相关单词：scarred
scarred解释：瘢痕性的
scarred例句：
The accident left him permanently scarred. 那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
He was scarred for life during a pub fight. 在一次酒吧斗殴中，他留下了永久性的伤疤。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：disdain
disdain解释：n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑
disdain例句：
Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。
相关单词：bump
bump解释：v.（against,into）碰，颠簸；n.碰撞，隆起物
bump例句：
I heard a bump in the next room.我听到隔壁房间传来“砰”的一声。
He got a bad bump on his forehead.他碰得前额隆起一个大包。
相关单词：compassion
compassion解释：n.同情，怜悯
compassion例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
