During my childhood I experienced greater hardships than most people go through in a lifetime. In my short 17 years of life， I have been through five divorces of my parents. Having a new stepmother or stepfather every few years was rough， but the constant moving was worse. My father's cancer diagnosis tore me apart， and his two heart attacks and battle with diabetes1） put a huge strain on the family. By age 13， I was depressed and emotionally scarred. I felt like I had no one to turn to and that nothing would ever get better. Then I met Maggie， and my perspective on life changed.

For many summers， I volunteered at a horseback riding camp for people with special needs. We taught children and adults specialized skills based on their disabilities. For example， we would teach a child with autism2） communication skills， or a child with cerebral palsy3） strength-building exercises. Each volunteer was assigned a specific child during the eight-week session in order to build a trusting relationship with them. Seeing the improvement in the kids day after day and the smiles on their faces whenever they saw me was heartwarming.

A few weeks into one summer session， I was asked to cover for4） another volunteer who was out sick. That was the day my outlook on life changed forever. I was assigned to Maggie， a girl with a severe brain injury. At first I didn't know what to expect. She had almost no verbal ability and very limited physical mobility， but she was in no way shy.

As I began to work with her， I looked through her file to get more information. It was heartbreaking. She had been physically abused as a newborn and throughout her infancy. Her birth parents abused her so badly that they caused her a serious brain injury by the age of two. Her skull had been broken， and the damage was irreversible5）. She had gone from foster6） home to foster home and never had a sense of stability. But the amazing thing about Maggie was her unsinkable attitude.

When I met Maggie， she was 12， and the only thing she would say was， \"I'm happy！\" That was the extent of her vocabulary. Everyone at the camp referred to her as Happy Maggie. Everyone loved her. She was never in a bad mood and was always up for trying anything. She was the happiest girl I have ever met. The answer to any question I asked her was \"I'm happy！\" What did you eat for breakfast？ How was your day？ What's your favorite color？ How old are you？ \"I'm happy！\" she replied each time. She loved life. She loved everyone and everything she came in contact with. I remember wondering if it was all an act—if on the inside she was broken， or if her brain was so far gone that the only emotion she could express or feel was happiness. I could only hope. In a twisted way， her brain injuries helped her get through the trauma of her childhood.

My life growing up was a huge struggle， but Maggie taught me to not let anything get in the way of happiness. Nothing bad in life should be enough to change who I am， or who I could be. She gave me strength. If I learned anything from Maggie， it would be， no matter what， be happy.

我童年時(shí)經(jīng)歷的磨難比大多數(shù)人一輩子經(jīng)歷的都要多。在短短17年的歲月里，我經(jīng)歷了父母的五次離婚。每隔幾年就有一個(gè)新的繼母或繼父，這就夠痛苦的了，但更糟糕的是還要不斷地搬家。爸爸被診斷出癌癥，令我痛苦萬(wàn)分，他的兩次心臟病發(fā)作以及與糖尿病的斗爭(zhēng)給全家?guī)?lái)了巨大的壓力。到13歲時(shí)，我變得郁悶沮喪，內(nèi)心傷痕累累。我覺(jué)得自己孤立無(wú)助，覺(jué)得一切永遠(yuǎn)都不會(huì)好起來(lái)了。就在那時(shí)，我遇見(jiàn)了瑪吉，我的人生觀從此發(fā)生了改變。

我連續(xù)很多年夏天都在一個(gè)為有特殊需求人士開(kāi)辦的騎馬訓(xùn)練營(yíng)里當(dāng)志愿者。我們根據(jù)這些兒童和成人的殘障狀況教他們一些專(zhuān)門(mén)的技能。例如，我們會(huì)教一個(gè)患有自閉癥的孩子溝通技巧，會(huì)教一個(gè)腦癱的孩子一些力量訓(xùn)練方法。在為期八周的課程時(shí)間里，每一名志愿者會(huì)被分配一名特定的孩子，以便和他們建立信任關(guān)系?？粗⒆觽円惶煲惶斓剡M(jìn)步，還有他們臉上那無(wú)論什么時(shí)候看見(jiàn)我都洋溢著的燦爛笑容，我覺(jué)得心里暖洋洋的。

有一期暑假課程開(kāi)始幾周后，一位志愿者生病無(wú)法上班，我被叫去替他。正是在那一天我的人生觀徹底改變了。我被指派給瑪吉，她是一個(gè)患有嚴(yán)重腦損傷的女孩。起初，我不知道對(duì)她能抱有什么期望。她幾乎完全喪失了語(yǔ)言能力，身體行動(dòng)能力也非常有限，但她一點(diǎn)兒也不靦腆。

接手她這份工作后，我翻閱了她的檔案，以了解更多信息。她的故事令人心碎。她從一生下來(lái)到整個(gè)嬰兒期，身體就受盡虐待。她的親生父母無(wú)所不盡其極地虐待她，在她兩歲時(shí)造成了一次嚴(yán)重的腦損傷。她顱骨骨折，其損傷無(wú)法恢復(fù)。她被送到了一個(gè)又一個(gè)領(lǐng)養(yǎng)家庭，從未有過(guò)穩(wěn)定感。但在瑪吉身上有一種驚人的東西——永不消沉的人生態(tài)度。

我認(rèn)識(shí)瑪吉時(shí)她12歲，她唯一會(huì)說(shuō)的就是“我很快樂(lè)！”這是她所有的詞匯量。訓(xùn)練營(yíng)里的每個(gè)人都叫她“快樂(lè)的瑪吉”，每個(gè)人都喜歡她。她永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)心情不好，而且總是愿意嘗試一切。她是我見(jiàn)過(guò)的最快樂(lè)的女孩。我問(wèn)她任何問(wèn)題，她的回答都是“我很快樂(lè)！”你早飯吃了什么？你今天過(guò)得怎么樣？你最喜歡的顏色是什么？你幾歲了？“我很快樂(lè)！”每一次她都這么回答。她熱愛(ài)生活，愛(ài)她接觸到的每一個(gè)人、每一樣事物。記得那時(shí)我在想，這是否只是在演戲——是不是在內(nèi)心深處她已經(jīng)心灰意冷，又或者她的大腦受損太過(guò)嚴(yán)重以至于她唯一能夠表達(dá)或感受到的情緒只有快樂(lè)。我只能如此希望。她的腦損傷以一種扭曲的方式幫助她熬過(guò)了童年的創(chuàng)傷。

我的成長(zhǎng)歷盡艱辛，但瑪吉教會(huì)我不要讓任何事情阻擋快樂(lè)。生活中的不順應(yīng)該都不足以改變現(xiàn)在的我和我能成為什么樣的人。她給了我力量。如果說(shuō)我從瑪吉那兒學(xué)到了什么的話(huà)，那就是，無(wú)論怎樣，快樂(lè)地活著！