Daddy's encouragement

“Keep a stiff upper lip”
~Phoebe Cary

I chose this simple, yet meaningful quote because it helped me through many of life’s callous moments. Although I am only 24, I have already been through my share of tough times. As far back as I can recall, all the times I was left crying and felt hopeless, my father would recite the quote “Keep a stiff upper lip” and despite how down I may have felt at the time, those words always put a smile on my face and would help me to regain some hope. It was a quote that his father would state to him throughout his life as well. I had never heard those words until my father. I always thought it was something my grandpa originated until I did research.

Unbeknownst to me, the quote “keep a stiff upper lip” dates back as far as the 1800’s and was an attribute to the British people, who were (are) perceived by many people as being reserved. That is what the quote means: no matter the circumstance faced, be emotionless, hide your feelings by keeping a stiff upper lip. There have been many writers and poets who have used this quote in their writings. It is not a quote that became known by any particular famous person, yet a saying that originated, like the similar quote “keep your chin up”.

One poet who used the quote in her writing, “And though hard be the task “keep a stiff upper lip” “, was Phoebe Cary. She became a well-known American poet during the middle of the 19th century. She and her sister Alice both published many poems in various leading magazines and in several books. These girls grew up in a rather poor family, where they earned their living as farmers. Their mother encouraged their writing, for she hoped it would bring them great fortune one day. Their mother passed away when the girls were 11 and 14. The girl’s new stepmother prohibited them to continue their writings because she felt it was an idle pursuit. Two years later the stepmother died, and they resumed their writing careers. The Cary’s poems landed them great admirers such as Edgar Allen Poe and William Holmes McGuffey. Phoebe died at age of 51 from malaria, five months after her sister Alice.

Though “Keep a stiff upper lip” may have originated hundreds of years ago and has since been used by many, I will always consider it my dad’s quote to me. I hope that you remember those words the next time life may bring at you a distressing or discouraging situation.