Darleen W

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do," is what Eleanor Roosevelt once said. I am not sure of the context in which she spoke these words, but had she known my mother, they would have been about her.

When I peer into my mother's eyes, I often wonder how she has ever had the courage to accomplish all she has in life. As a child, my mother fell victim to almost every abuse possible. She was entrapped in a cycle of pain, passed on for generations.

My mother made a conscious decision to be happy. She decided to take the risk and cross the bridge towards happiness knowing she could have fallen off at any time, and succumb to sadness. Through hard work she realized her dreams. She fought off her demons and broke the very cycle that had seized so many in her past.

Having crossed that bridge, she has now dedicated her life towards reaching out to others less fortunate. Rather than run towards an easy escape, my mom has looked her life's anguish right in the face, stood her ground, fought, and won. To me, and to Eleanor, that takes courage.

Submitted by Anonymous

Courage