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人们猜想成年后的Sophia在终有一天挣脱母亲的“魔爪”后会与母亲疏离，然而事实并非如此。《纽约邮报
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发表了Sophia写给母亲的信，信中Sophia表达了对妈妈的爱与感谢。
在她看来，世人误解了妈妈蔡美儿。妈妈在养育她们的过程中教会了她们如何独立思考，更重要的是教会了她们如何拼尽全力、用力地生活。
这份拼劲全力会让她坦然面对命运抛给她的一切题目，即使明天就会面对死亡，她也会觉得自己曾经110%地活着。
她写道：
I admit it: Having you as a mother was no tea party. But now that I’m 18 and about to leave the tiger den, I’m glad you and Daddy raised me the way you did.
我承认，有你做我的妈妈绝不是件轻松的事。
但是现在我18岁了，将要离开“虎穴”面对世界。我很高兴你和爸爸用你们的方式养育了我。
A lot of people have accused you of producing robot kids who can’t think for themselves. At any rate, I was thinking about this, and I came to the opposite conclusion: I think your strict parenting forced me to be more independent.
很多人控诉你，说你像制造机器人一样养育你的孩子，她们不会有独立思考的能力的。我也一直在思考这个问题，而我的结论与大家相反，我觉得你的严苛反而让我更加独立。
对于贺卡事件Sophia也做了回应：
Everybody’s talking about the birthday cards we once made for you, which you rejected because they weren’t good enough. Funny how some people are convinced that Lulu and I are scarred for life. Maybe if I had poured my heart into it, I would have been upset. But let’s face it: The card was feeble, and I was busted. It took me 30 seconds; I didn’t even sharpen the pencil. That’s why, when you rejected it, I didn’t feel you were rejecting me. If I actually tried my best at something, you’d never throw it back in my face.
很多人对于你因为我们的贺卡不够好，就将其拒绝的事不能释怀。有趣的是，他们竟认为我们会因此永远留下心理阴影。如果我真的用心做了那张卡片，我或许会失落。但事实是，那张卡片确实很烂，我的不用心被你发现了。我只花了30秒做那张卡片，甚至连铅笔都没削。这也是为什么，当你拒绝这张卡片时，我知道你并不是在拒绝我。如果我真的尽力去做了，你是绝对不会把它甩在我脸上的。
I remember walking on stage for a piano competition. I was so nervous, and you whispered, “Soso, you worked as hard as you could. It doesn’t matter how you do.”
我还记得在钢琴比赛登台之前，我紧张得不行，你就在我耳边跟我说，“Soso，你已经尽了最大的努力了，这次弹得怎样都没关系。”
Sophia说，母亲教会了自己，只有在体验过超越身心的极限后，才能坦然面对一切。
There’s one more thing: I think the desire to live a meaningful life is universal. To some people, it’s working toward a goal. To others, it’s enjoying every minute of every day. So what does it really mean to live life to the fullest? Maybe striving to win a Nobel Prize and going skydiving are just two sides of the same coin.
还有一件事，我觉得世上的人都想拥有有意义的一生。对有些人来说，这意味着朝着一个目标努力，对有些人来说，则是开心过好每一天每一秒。所以怎样才是真正地好好活着？可能努力赢得诺贝尔奖和挑战跳伞只是一个硬币的两面。
To me, it’s not about achievement or self-gratification. It’s about knowing that you’ve pushed yourself, body and mind, to the limits of your own potential. You feel it when you encounter a life-changing idea, and when you do something on your own that you never thought you could. If I died tomorrow, I would die feeling I’ve lived my whole life at 110 percent.
