Dear Mr. Montgomery,
I was so impressed about Temple’s story. She was one of those kids who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd. But she used her unique abilities and passions in the right way to become successful in life. Temple is a different person because she was born with autism. Her thinking was in pictures, not in words. Autism helped her understand the feelings of animals, so she could make their lives better. Her love of making things and creating saved her life. She had tough times but she fought back. As she grew up, she discovered that when one door closed, another door opened; that made her happy. Temple learned to use her autism to help her reach her goals. Temple’s success gave autistic kids hope that success is possible for them.
I am from Vietnam. When I moved to the US, I couldn’t speak English at all. I felt so isolated. It was tough to deal with feeling like I didn’t fit in a new country. Then I found an ESL school and went there until I learned to speak and write in English. It was very difficult for me to learn a new language but I didn’t give up. My English is now in progress. I went back to school with confidence that one day I will get the degree that I want. I realized that education is very important in my life.
Like Temple, I am not a perfect woman; but I always try hard. I have raised my two beautiful daughters to become well-educated and to follow their passions in life. My older daughter graduated from UCI with a major in computer science and engineering. My younger daughter will finish high school in May and go on to college. Raising my daughters to be good people is one of my passions and the other passion is to educate myself.
Whenever I have tough times, Temple’s story will remind me that another door will open.
Sincerely,
Hoang L.
Literacy Volunteers-HBPL 