In the fall of 1985. I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University,aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
1985年秋天。我是一个目光明亮的女孩，即将前往霍华德大学，目标是从事法律职业，梦想着坐在某个地方的最高法院法官席上。21年后的今天，我仍然是一个目光明亮的梦想家，一个有着完全不同故事的人。
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college an the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
我的奶奶，一个了不起的女人，65岁从大学毕业。她是我们家第一个实现这个目标的人。但我上大学一年后，她得了癌症，我选择了退学照顾她。这意味着大学和我的个人梦想将不得不推迟。
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopt and biological children.In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No.3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
然后，我怀着另一个梦想结婚了：为领养孩子和亲生孩子组建家庭。1999年，我们收养了第一个儿子。看着他真是太棒了——非常情绪化。一年后，我们收养了第二个男孩。然后是第三个男孩。2003年，我又生了一个男孩。
You can imagine how fully occupied I became,raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant talking as few as one class each semester.
你可以想象我有多忙，抚养着四个8岁以下的男孩。我们的家是一个完整的动物园——欢乐的动物园。不足为奇，我从来没有脱产上大学。但我也从未放弃这个梦想。我只有一个选择：找到一条路。这意味着每学期只上很少的课。
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys.They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
最难的部分是对我不能陪伴孩子感到内疚，他们经常希望我和他们呆在家里。当然，我很多次想退出，但我知道我应该为他们树立榜样，让他们终生追随。
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree!
2007年，我毕业于北卡罗来纳大学。我花了21年拿到了大学学位！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you're looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you're in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life on one day. It's a process. Remember; little steps add up to big dreams.
我并不特别，只是一心一意。当你从面对巨大的挑战时，挑战只是外表看起来巨大，但当你身处其中时，似乎很平常。你想要的一切并不是一天就能实现的。这是一个过程。记住：小步骤达成大梦想。
