女儿当自强

From Place to Place

On a sunny morning June 1998， twenty-one-year-old Lauralee Summer waited for the start of her graduation ceremony at Harvard University nervously， praying that this time her mother would not be late as usual. However her mother didn't show up even after the ceremony ended. Holding her certificate， she couldn't help recalling those disappointing moments： unable to catch bus on time， late for dinner and so on. Suddenly， she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and found her mother standing behind her， beaming with smile.

That Lauralee Summer's mother loves her is not in question， never has been. But the mother was unable to do what most children take for granted in Lauralee's childhood： set a schedule， make sure she went to school， get meals on the table， and make a stable home. For much of Summer's childhood， mother and daughter moved from shelter to welfare hotel to temporary room to a relative's house. By the time she was 12， they had already moved 12 times.

A Fresh Start

In 1989， they headed east. Summer says her mother told her that Boston “had good schools and was rich with cultural history.” Thus began a stay at shelters， welfare hotels， and rented rooms throughout the Boston area. For the first time in her life， there were rules， regular meals， and order. There Lauralee enrolled in Quincy High School. Lauralee would take her second-hand skateboard all over Quincy： It was free transportation. To give her room to do homework， her mother slept on the couch for the next four years.

Thanks to her teacher， Charles Maclaughlin， Lauralee made decent grades， joined the boys' wrestling team and found a place at Harvard. She wasn't the top student in her high school class （twentieth in a class of 300）， and her SATs weren't perfect （1，450 out of 1，600）。

But her admissions essay set her apart from the multitudes of privileged Harvard kids. “I wrote about my mom mostly， and a little about being homeless，” she says. “I wrote about wanting to help other homeless kids.” “She's special， and someday she'll do something incredible； I really believe that，” says Maclaughlin， “Her mother gave her things that are priceless—a lot of love， and a love of reading.”

For a long time， she felt more comfortable around homeless people than her classmates. “I was with all these students who came from stable families，” she says. “They were brilliant and driven. I thought， I am going to be washed out.” She was on scholarship and grants， working two jobs to pay the bills. Books were too expensive， so Lauralee borrowed them from the library or photocopied chapters.

On Parents' Weekend， Summer's mother took the train， hauling her belongings in several bags through Harvard Square. “From the moment I met her at the T station， where she emerged laden down with her bags and layers of clothes， I knew that my Parents' Weekend would be different from anyone else's，” writes Lauralee. While the other students were dining or shopping with parents， her mum left because she had to check in at the shelter by 6：30 pm.

Forgive and Understand

Toward both her parents， Summer shows an extraordinary ability not only to forgive but to understand. “I wanted to know where the other half of my genes came from，” she says. “Meeting my dad was like being reborn at 19. I can imagine what a hard time he went through when he divorced.” She wrote him a letter when she was a sophomore in college. Her father wrote back right away， and the two have become close. Both father and daughter were surprised at the depth of feeling they discovered for each other， and what they have in common； both are athletic， driven and emotional. He came to her Harvard graduation and made a 14-day cross-country trip with her when she moved to Berkeley.

“I learned to look at the world in different ways and still find joy，” when she talks about her life. “Honestly， I think my life has been so lucky in so many ways.”

女儿当自强——走进哈佛的穷孩子

四处飘零

1998年6月，一个阳光明媚的早晨，21岁萝拉莉。萨默忐忑不安地等待着哈佛大学毕业典礼的开始。她在祈祷着，希望母亲这次不会像往常一样迟到。然而直到典礼结束，她的母亲还是没有出现。手里拿着毕业证书，她不由回想起过去那些令人失望的片刻：不能按时赶上公共汽车，晚餐迟到等等。突然，她听到有人喊她的名字。转过身去，发现母亲就站在她后面，笑逐颜开。

她妈妈一直都很爱她，这是毋庸置疑的。但是，小时候，妈妈却无法给予她大多数孩子理应得到的那种待遇——生活有规律，可以上学，三餐无忧，有一个稳定的家。童年时代，母女俩居无定所，从收容所到福利旅馆，到临时住所，到亲戚家，搬来迁去。到她十二岁时，她们就已经搬了十二次家了。

新的开始

1989年，她们向东迁移。萨默说妈妈告诉她，波士顿有很多好学校，有丰富的文化底蕴。于是，她们便住在波士顿地区，栖身于收容所、福利旅馆，或租房。她的生活第一次有了规律，按时吃饭，一切井然有序了。在那里，萝拉莉进了昆西高中，她总是踏着她的二手滑板在校园内穿梭：那可是一种免费的交通工具。在随后的四年里，为了把房间腾出来给她做作业，她妈妈一直睡长沙发。

幸亏有她的老师查尔斯。麦克拉弗林的帮助，萝拉莉取得了不错的成绩，加入了男子摔跤队，并在哈佛找到了一席之地。高中时，她的成绩并不拔尖（300名学生中，她排在第20位），SAT测试成绩也不是很理想（在1600名考生中名列1450）。

可是，她的入学作文使她从众多哈佛学子中脱颖而出。“我在作文中写的主要是我妈妈，而对于流浪生活只是轻描淡写，”她说，“我还提到想帮助其他无家可归的孩子。”“她与众不同，总有一天会干出一番事业来。这一点我是坚信不移的，”麦克拉弗林说，“她妈妈给予了她无限的爱，培养了她对阅读的热忱——这些都是无价之宝。”

在很长一段时间里，她觉得与无家可归的人在一起要比跟同学相处更舒心。“我身边的同学都有一个稳定的家庭，”她说，“他们个个才华横溢，都有一种紧迫感。我觉得自己就要被淘汰了。”她获得了奖学金和助学金，并且打两份工来支付学费。书本太贵，她就从图书馆借阅，或复印其中的一些章节。

每到“双亲周”，萨默的母亲就搭火车过来，拖着装在几个袋子中的全部家当穿过哈佛广场。“当我在月台看到她时，她躬着腰，背着几个袋子和层打层的衣服。从那一刻起，我就知道我的‘双亲周’肯定会跟其他同学有所不同，”萝拉莉这样写道。当其他学生跟父母一起吃饭、购物时，她妈妈走了，因为她必须在下午6：30之前到收容所报到。

宽恕与理解

对于父母，萨默不仅表现出一种超乎寻常的宽容，而且格外的善解人意。“我想知道我的另一半基因是从哪儿来的，”她说，“在19岁时，我见到了爸爸，仿佛得到了重生。我能想象得到在离婚时，他也很痛苦。”大二时，她给父亲写了一封信。而父亲也马上给她回了信，父女俩的距离就这样拉近了。他们俩都很惊讶：彼此之间感情是如此之深，并且有许多共同点——热爱运动，有紧迫感，情感丰富。哈佛毕业典礼那天，她父亲也来了。搬到伯克利后，她还和父亲一起去进行了一次长达14天的越野游。

“我学会了从不同角度去看待这个世界，并从中找到了快乐，”当谈及人生时，她这样说道，“坦诚地说，从多方面来讲，我都是个幸运儿。”