UNIT 20 Disability

美国学生习作

My Sister Lisa

by Carrie Danziger, 12th Grade, Bethlehem Central High School

Behind closed doors I saw her tears. Behind her back I heard the laughing. I watched her as she never gave up. So much of what makes me who I am today, I learned from her. She is my older sister, Lisa.

I had reasons to admire Lisa other than her being my older sister. From the beginning, everything was hard for her. In elementary school, Lisa wore glasses and was constantly teased by the other children. They were unaware of the emotional harm they caused her. Later, Lisa was diagnosed with a learning disability. Her school years were extremely difficult, both socially and academically.

Lisa influenced me most when she was in high school, and I was in middle school. Lisa knew the importance of a good education, even though it was a struggle for her. Despite the fact that many of her peers were not college-bound, she strove to do her best. She was the only one in the basic skills classes who ever finished her assignments and worked to make the honor roll.

As Lisa's independence and confidence grew, she no longer wanted to be part of the basic skills classes. She wanted to do it on her own. Knowing how far she had come and how determined she was, she was placed in regular high school classes. She would only go to a consulting teacher when she needed the help. Lisa proved to everyone who wanted to see her succeed that she could do it.

Throughout high school Lisa was more dedicated than I can even imagine. All Lisa wanted was to be a normal kid for she rarely saw other students in her same situation. She wanted to make her disability go away. In my eyes, the longer she pursued the more she grew as a student. She was able to express herself in writing, something she had never been able to do before. She had found an outlet to express herself.

In her senior year, Lisa took a half year elective course in accounting. This proved to be something that she excelled in. In 1993 she received the BCCO Scholarship Award for 揳 senior student who has shown significant improvement and success in the face of adversity? Lisa went against all the odds, did extremely well, and found something that she loved.

At the same time Lisa was improving in school, she was changing on the outside. Within a period of a few years, Lisa matured into a beautiful young adult. She got contact lenses, her braces came off, and she found a new way to do her hair. From beneath the shy little girl came a beautiful, outgoing teenager. Yet the students did not make her struggle any easier. Once people have one impression of a person, their minds are not very accepting of change. It was strange to me that although Lisa wanted to achieve, she was ridiculed for it by the students in her classes. The majority of the students labeled Lisa stupid and she spent much of her high school years alone.

Recently I found myself explaining to someone that with a learning disability you can be extremely smart, but learning is much more difficult. Although I failed to make him realize that the person he was talking about wasn't stupid,?it made me proud to know that my sister defeated these stereotypes. Kay Runyan, an expert on learning disabilities, explains that it takes longer to process the material, but then the learning disabled students got the extra time, there was no significant difference between their scores and those of students without disabilities.?P> Despite her difficulties during high school, Lisa still wore a smile and had a positive and optimistic attitude. I grew up watching her overcome her learning disability. Now as a high school student myself, I have the same determination and work ethic as she does.

Lisa's struggle enabled me to mature and become a compassionate person. Having watched the way Lisa was treated, I will never treat anyone as if they don抰 exist. I will never cause someone to experience as much pain as my sister experienced. No one deserves to be teased, left out, or ridiculed. No one deserves to be alone.

I didn't let Lisa's learning disability affect our relationship as sisters or as friends. I always looked up to her as my big sister. Even with her disability, Lisa was very intelligent. All she needed was to be taught in a different way, a way that she could understand.

Lisa has taught me more about living happily than anyone. Through hard work and determination she overcame her disability and will graduate from Curry College in June. Lisa has made the most out of her life and she has never given up. My wish is to be as optimistic, happy and successful as she.

江苏省靖江高级中学