生命以惊叹号开始，以奇迹的形态绽放……

Upon hearing her evaluation¹ I became furious for I thought, "Who is she to tell me what I can or cannot do. She does not even know me. I am a very determined² and stubborn person!" I believe it was at that very moment that I decided³ I would somehow, someday return to college.

她的这番结论让我怒不可遏，“她是谁，凭什么告诉我能做什么或不能做什么。她根本不了解我。我是很坚强而固执的人！”我相信就在那时我决定无论如何，总有一天我会返回学校的。

It took me a long time and a lot of hard work but I finally returned to the University of Texas in the fall of 1983 - a year and a half after almost dying. The next few years in Austin were very difficult for me, but I truly believe that in order to see beauty in life you have to experience some unpleasantness. Maybe I have experienced too much unpleasantness, but I believe in living each day to the fullest, and doing the very best I can.

在经历了一年半垂死挣扎的生活后，在漫长的等待和艰辛的付出后，终于在1983年的秋天，我返回了德克萨斯大学。在奥斯汀接下来的几年里我生活得非常艰难，但我确信为了看到生活中的真善美你必须要经历一些苦难。也许我经历的苦难太多了，但我有一个信念--充实地过每一天，尽力做到最好。

And each new day was very busy and very full, for besides attending classes at the University I underwent therapy three to five days each week at Brackenridge Hospital. If this were not enough I flew to Houston every other weekend to work with Tom Williams, a trainer and executive who had worked for many colleges and professional teams and also had helped many injured athletes, such as Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson. Through Tom I learned: "Nothing is impossible and never, never give up or quit."

日子过的很繁忙、很充实，除了读书，每周我还在要在布莱肯瑞吉医院接受三到五次的治疗。如果这还不够忙的话，我还要隔周和汤姆·威廉斯飞到奥斯汀工作。汤姆是一个教练兼主管，他曾效力于许多大学校队和职业联队，并帮助过许多受伤的运动员，如：厄尔·坎贝尔 和 艾立克·迪克森。从汤姆的身上我学到“没有什么是不可能的，千万千万不要放弃，永不放弃。”

Early, during my therapy, my father kept repeating to me one of his favorite sayings. I have repeated it almost every day since being hurt: "Mile by mile it's a trial; yard by yard it's hard; but inch by inch it's a cinch."

早在我接受治疗的时候，父亲总是重复他最爱的那句话，每天当我感到痛苦的时候我也对自己重复那句话，那就是“脚踏实地，切勿急功近利。”

I thought of those words, and I thought of Tom, my family and Sharon who believed so strongly in me as I climbed the steps to receive my diploma from the Dean of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas on that bright sunny afternoon in June of 1986. Excitement and pride filled my heart as I heard the dean announce that I had graduated with "highest honors", been elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and been chosen as one of 12 Dean's Distinguished⁴ Graduates out of 1600 in the College of Liberal Arts.

1986年六月那个阳光明媚的午后，当我步履蹒跚地走上德克萨斯大学迪安文学院的台阶接受文凭的时候，我思索着这些话，想到汤姆、父母还有沙伦，他们都那么坚定地给予了我信任。当我听到院长宣布我以最高荣誉毕业时，我的心中充满了骄傲和自信。接着他还宣布我被选入美国大学优等生荣誉学会，并在1600名毕业生中当选为12名迪安文学院的杰出毕业生之一。

The overwhelming emotions and feelings that I experienced at that very moment, when most of the audience gave me a standing⁵ ovation, I felt would never again be matched in my life-not even when I graduated with a masters degree in social work and not even when I became employed full time at the Texas Pain and Stress Center. But I was wrong!

当场有许多观众站起来为我鼓掌，那一刻令我心潮澎湃、百感交集。我甚至觉得生命中不可能再经历那样的感慨和激情，这种想法一直延续到我获得社会学的硕士学位，成为德克萨斯止痛减压中心的一名全职工作人员。但幸运之神再次眷顾了我！