The Greatest Law of Life
杰西·戈登/Jesse Gordon
我学到的最重要的一条人生法则是：“不管生活有多么艰难，我都不能放弃。”我必须继续坚持，想方设法改变不利的处境。我的生活应该是有价值的，我要试着快乐地生活，我必须学会正确地对待不同的生活。任何事都不能放弃，因为不管处境多么艰难，总有人在关心我、爱护我。
我曾经挣扎在大多数人都不会想到的困境之中。很多人只是摇头，根本不愿相信会发生这样的事情。在我想要说给他们听时，一些人只是说好像没那么糟糕，便不愿再听下去了。不过，其实我的确需要讲给什么人听，因为我要是忍着不说，情况会更糟，甚至不可挽救。
现在的生活并不像我以前想的那样毫无希望。当时，我甚至不敢确定自己现在还能不能真的活在世上，我甚至因为自己所受的罪而对上帝产生怀疑，也开始责怪母亲，为什么总是因为一些该做却没有做的小事，如喂狗之类的事情，而让我们挨揍、受罚呢？有一天，大约3点钟，我忘了喂狗，便被惩罚24小时不准吃饭。
另外一次是在我8岁时，距离圣诞节只有7天了。早上6点的时候，生父把我和7岁的妹妹叫醒，让我们去清扫院子。院子里都是他的啤酒瓶和垃圾。我和妹妹感觉院子非常干净了，就回到屋里，打开电视机看。这时，他走了进来，开始大喊大叫地骂我们，说我们不但懒，而且不听话。他说台阶下边还有一小片纸，因此就不过圣诞节了。那年，我们真的没有过圣诞节。
还有一次是在我9岁时，生父在修理搬运车时，叫我把工具递给他。我不知道他要什么工具，就站在原地没动。他站起来，冲我大叫道：“为什么不递给我工具？”我只好说不知道是哪件，他就打了我一顿，尖叫着说过去我看到过他修车，看到别人给他递过哪件工具，我就应该知道他想要什么工具。结果是我被关在房间里一个星期。
这就是我的生活，大多数人都无法想象的生活。从我会爬的时候开始直到母亲离开，那个家每年都没有什么变化，我只要睁开眼睛，就心怀恐惧。13岁之后，我才有朋友到家里来。从那以后，我可以坦然地问问题，可以与母亲和继父一起吃冰淇淋。在我13岁之前，生父一直是当着我和妹妹的面吃冰淇淋，却不让我们吃一口。不久，我就意识到母亲当初也为她自己和孩子们感到害怕，只是不知道该如何是好而已。上帝终于给了她力量和勇气，使她逃离了苦海。
以前，因为在这样的环境中长大，我的生活态度十分差，无论是对我爱的人，还是陌生人，我完全是一副冷漠的态度。我不但脾气不好，也不尊重权威。而且，我学会了整天坐在那里编造谎言。在我慢慢长大，懂得一切之后，我认识到自己有能力改变，有能力成为一个与过去不同的人。我不必像生父那样，我会善待他人，不发脾气，用和善的态度对待每个人。我已经知道，假如我对人家好，人家也会对我好，同时这也意味着我会有更多的朋友。
我开始更加友善地对待他人。如今，母亲和一个很好的人结了婚，生活得很美满。我也不再觉得生活很绝望，活着没有乐趣了。我认识到自己很快乐，也为自己没有放弃生活而感到高兴。去年，我第一次在期末报告书上得了4分。现在，我有很多朋友，因为我付出了不懈的努力。我改变了令人绝望的生活环境，并且现在的一切都充满着希望，令人鼓舞。
One of the greatest laws of life that I have learned is "I can not give up on life even if the situation is horribly hopeless." I must go on and live， and try to overcome it. My life has value. I should try to be happy， and I must 1earn how to deal with whatever life throws at me. I must not give up on anyone， because no matter how hard it gets， someone out there still cares and loves me.
I have been in a situation that most people do not think about. Many people just turn their heads and do not want to believe it exists. Some people， when I try to talk to them， just tell me it is not as bad as it seems， and do not listen. But the truth of the matter is I need to tell someone， because if I hold it in it will just build up and make matters worse.
Life is not hopeless like I thought it was. I was not even sure if I should be here in this world. I even doubted God because of the way I was treated. I started blaming my mother for allowing me to be beaten and severely punished for little things that I should have done， like feed the dog. One day， it was about 3：00 and I forgot to feed the dog. My punishment was that I could not eat for 24 hours.
Another example of this treatment was when I was eight years old. It was seven days before Christmas. At 6：00 a.m. my biological father woke up me and my sister， who was seven， to clean the yard， which was full of his beer cans and trash. My sister and I thought the yard was pretty clean， so we went inside and turned on the television. We were watching the television when my biological father came in and started hollering and screaming and cursing my sister and me. He said we did not listen and were lazy. He said because there was one little piece of paper under the steps， there would not be Christmas. That year we did not have Christmas.
Another example is when I was nine years old， my biological father asked me for a tool while he was working on the van. I did not know what tool it was that he asked for， so I stood there. He got up and hollered， "Why didn't you give me the tool？" I simply said I did not know what tool it was. He hit me and started screaming. He said that I have seen him working on the van before， and someone else had handed it to him， so I should have known what tool he wanted. I got grounded to my room for one week.
My life has been like that， and more than most can imagine， from the day I could crawl to the day my mom left. I was thirteen years old before I could have friends over to my home. I was thirteen before I did not have to be seared when I woke up. I was thirteen before I could ask questions without fear. I was thirteen before I could eat ice cream with my mother and stepdad. My biological father would eat ice cream in front of me and my sister and not let us eat any. I soon realized that my mother was scared for herself and for her kids； she did not know what to do. God finally gave her the strength and courage to get out of a bad situation.
In the past， I have had a bad attitude toward life because of the way I was raised. I treated people bad， those I loved and those I did not know. I blamed it on the way I was raised. I had a short temper and did not respect authority. However， I have learned that I could sit here all day making up excuses. But the truth be known， I have realized that I have the power to change. I have the power to be a different person in life. I do not have to be like my biological father. I can treat others well， and not have a short temper and bad attitude with everyone. I have discovered that others will treat me well if I treat them well， which means having more friends.
I started treating others better. My mother is now married to a great man. Life is wonderful. I do not think life is hopeless and not worth living anymore. I have realized that I am happy， and I am glad that I did not give up on life. Last year， for the first time， I had a 4.0 on my final report card. I now have many friends， because I stuck with it. I pulled through a horribly hopeless situation， and things are not hopeless anymore.