about ten years ago when i was an undergraduate in college, i was working as an intern at my university's museum of natural history. one day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, i saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.

as i looked closer at this girl, i saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. i then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and torso. she was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.

as the couple wheeled her up to me i was looking down at the register. i turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. as i took the money from her grandparents, i looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile i have ever seen.

all of a sudden her handicap was gone and all i saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. she took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and warmth.

that was ten years ago. i'm a successful business person now and whenever i get down and think about the troubles of the world, i think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.