The Canvas Babe
Once, there was a little girl who slept on a white canvas bed with wooden legs. Every morning, she woke up and made her own bed.
She folded the white canvas bed and leaned it against the bedroom wall.
She also liked to sing and dance.
One day, she came home from dancing in a school concert. Her teacher had made up her face with some pretty colors — blue on her eyelids, orange on her cheeks and red on her lips.
She saw papa talking to a man she had never met. She went to hide behind the wooden couch papa made. The man saw her.
When she was about ten, she heard papa talking sadly to mama one night.
“Ah Tee said, no matter how bright she is, we’ll never be able to send her to college!”
She didn’t understand what those words meant.
Many many years have passed.
On May 9th, 2014, that “little girl” was hooded by her advisor at a doctoral hooding ceremony in Syracuse University.
Education fulfilled its promise in her life.
爸妈，虽然当天你们无法在场，我想您俩一定会很开心看到这些照片, 也希望在远方的你们会藉此感到骄傲. 我想要你们知道，你们永远在我心中是最重要的。感谢你们这么多年来，这么辛苦地养育我，培养我，默默地支持我。我只能说，在这一刻，我无法找到恰当的词汇来表达我对你们深深的感谢和爱。我会永远的感激你们和思念你们。女儿，燕华。
2 Comments
Autumm Caines
Yin Wah,
This is so beautiful. Thank you for your story. It made me tear up. I love it so much.
ywbkreher@gmail.com
Thank you, Autumm. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have gone as far as I have despite the humble background I started from. Education offers promise but sometimes doesn’t live up to it. I want to be a part of that inspiration and practice.