I strongly believe that we can have an important effect on anyone we meet. The right words at just the right time could totally change someone's life. That's what happened to me years ago.
When I was a 3-year-old boy, my parents discovered I was totally deaf. After asking many doctors, educational specialists and parents of other deaf children, they decided to put me in amainstreamschool. All of my classmates and teachers would have normal hearing.
From the time I started going there in the third grade, I was the only deaf child at Blue Creek Elementary School in the small town of Latham, New York. From almost the first day there, the other kids made fun of me and called me names mainly because of my hearing aid and the way I talked.
I worried throughout Elementary school because, except the problems of "fitting in" with the other students, I also struggled with most of my schoolwork.
Although I seemed outgoing, my self-esteem (自尊心) was quite low. I saw myself as an ugly kid wearing a weird-looking box around his neck who wasn't even smart enough to keep up with the other kids.
Mrs. Jordan, my fifth-grade teacher, changed all of that with a simple three-word phrase. Mrs. Jordan was a large woman with a voice that bounced (反弹) off the walls of her tiny classroom. One morning, she asked the class a question.
I read her lips (嘴唇) and immediately raised my hand. For once I knew the answer. But, when she called on me, I was afraid. I took a deep breath, stood up slowly and answered Mrs. Jordan's question in a low voice.
I will never forget what happened next.
Mrs. Jordan pointed directly at me. With shining eyes and a wide smile she cried: "That's right, Stephen!"
For the first time in my life, I was an instant star. My confidence soared like never before.
I decided right then and there that I would make a place for myself in this world. No matter how many difficulties I might meet in life, I knew I could overcome them. A simple three-word phrase delivered with incredible enthusiasm had totally changed my young life. "That's right, Stephen!"
