I was filled with worries until my grandfather told me to stand tall.
For me, height (身高) was my trouble. I was much taller than other girls, so I often bent my body at the back of the line. I had always felt unsafe as the tallest student of my class in Bala Cynwyd. And I wasn't looking forward to entering the ninth grade.
My grandfather didn't laugh at me. Instead, whenever I tried to bend myself in order to appear shorter, he would tell me "Stand straight and tall, Alisa." And whenever I was afraid of something, he always told me stories of his life.
My grandfather grew up in war-torn (战乱的) Europe. "Stand straight, stand tall" meant something else then. After the war, he went to America. He lived a hard life. "If they could do it, why couldn't I?" "Stand straight, stand tall," he often reminded himself. Thanks to the help of a friend, my grandfather got a job. He once told me that he was very nervous at first. He was trying to learn not only this hard new job but also a new language.
"Stand straight, stand tall," he would always tell himself. I am so proud of my grandfather. After listening to my grandfather's unusual experiences, I have changed the way I look at my own life.
"Stand straight, stand tall" has become not only a piece of advice to improve my posture (身姿). It also tells me to be proud of who I am. And I do.
