Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you've got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Surely we all know that we're the apple of our parents' eyes, and that our Grandmas think we're great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics，but sometimes it's a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself.

    Self-image is your own mind's picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.

    The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don't allow doubts to occur in it.

    It very well might be that you are experiencing a negative self-image because you can't move past one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you're silly because you aren't good at math, find a tutor. If you think you're weak because you can't run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you're dull because you don't wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn't mean it's true.

    The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat yourself on the back，you'll know you're well on your way. Good luck!

    Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio, USA and died on January 30, 1948. Together with his brother, Wilbur, he was the first airplane builder. The brothers created the first controlled, powered and heavier-than-air human flight.

    His parents were Milton Wright and Susan Catherine Koerner and besides the two famous brothers they had five children. One day after a trip his father brought as a gift a small helicopter. The kids loved it and as they played daily with it after a while it broke. The brothers managed to create a new one. Wright even let go his plans of attending Yale. He spent his time helping his ill mother and reading in his father's library.

    In 1884 the family decided to move to Dayton and they remained there until the 1870's. A printing press was built by the two and Wilbur was an editor. In 1892 they started being fascinated by the aeronautical （航空的） events of that time. Then they started to create an airplane and Wilbur was considered the head of the team. They were the inventors of “three axis-control”, which permitted the pilot to steer the aircraft's balance.

    In 1900 they had their first attempts to make a functional glider（滑翔机）— of course it didn't have a pilot. After three years they thought of introducing an engine to the glider. At first, their patent(专利) application was refused in 1903, but after one year it was accepted.

    Orville's first flight lasted 12 seconds and had 36.5 meters. He was responsible with the public shows near Washington in the United States. On September 9, 1908 his flight was 62 minutes and 15 seconds long and the success was huge.

    The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and pushed the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. “How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy in my old age.”

    Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others.

    Frank began,“My Dad was a fisherman. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home.”

    Frank's voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me good-bye!”

    He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I thought I was too old for a good-bye kiss. When we got to the school, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, 'No, Dad.' It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, 'Dad, I'm too old for a good-bye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.' My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear. I had never seen him cry. He turned. 'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy ... a man. I won't kiss you anymore.'”

    For the moment, the tears began to well up in Frank's eyes. “It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back.”

    I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again.“Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek.”

    It's true that many dads in the wild aren't interested in parenting, but there are some that work pretty hard to give their little ones a good start. Maybe one of these dads will make you remember your own dad!

    The male giant water bug (雄性负子蝽) doesn't seem to mind a heavy load (负荷物) on his back for his kids. The female puts about 100 to 150 eggs on the back of the male, and then she leaves. Once the female is gone, the male has to look after the eggs. It usually takes one to two weeks for the eggs to hatch (孵化). The father giant water bug jumps around to make sure the growing eggs get enough air and water. All this time he can't fly because of the weight of the eggs growing rapidly on his back.

    Now let's turn to the male stickleback fish. When the mother leaves after laying her eggs, the father tends his young. If the young fish go too far away, their father helps with their safe return by carrying them back in his mouth. The male stickleback looks after all his young — as many as 100 — until they can live on their own.

A similar example can be found in emperor penguins (帝企鹅) living in cold areas. The male emperor penguin goes without food while looking after his egg until it hatches. For about 62 to 67 days, the egg stays on top of the father's feet, in very cold temperatures that drop down to -39℃. As a result, the father may lose nearly 50 percent of his body weight while waiting for his baby penguin to be born!

    Pastime is a bi-monthly magazine for curious young minds. Many of the topics we write about won't be covered in the classroom. All the articles are written in a lively style, and each one is paired with drawings by some of the country's most talented artists.

    History focuses on archaeological (考古的) sites around the world where archaeologists work to unearth important finds.

    World includes stories about daily life, folk tales, and history and traditions of the people and places.

    Sport includes nutrition tips, information about up-and-coming young athletes, and sports events.

    Art stimulates a child's cultural life, from film to theatre through to writing and music.

    On top of all that, Pastime is packed with items to stimulate a youngster's imagination, including pages of puzzles and a step-by-step guide to creating their own impressive-looking drawings.

    In every issue, we review the latest books top authors write for youngsters. There are also short works of fiction written especially for Pastime by some of our best writers.

    We know that children at this age are dealing with many emotions and sometimes difficult feelings, so we have a personal advice page to reply to questions dealing with personal and moral problems.

    Unlike many of today's throwaway comics, Pastime is written and designed to be kept and treasured. We know children love going online — but we also know how much they enjoy holding a printed magazine in their hands, and the excitement they get when each new issue drops through the letterbox personally addressed to them.

    Subscription

    Pastime is published six times a year. An annual subscription costs just £20 and makes a great gift for any child aged eight to twelve.

    To order by phone: Dial 1-800-821-0156 and use Offer Code WEBSAVE86 for print-only subscriptions.

    You can cancel at any time for magazines that haven't shipped yet.

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at hospital.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was to reach for his toast, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him spread butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember bearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burnt toast."

Later that night, I went to kiss daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burnt. He took me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a hard day at work today and she's really tired. And besides, a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!"

You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. This good quality is the base of any relationship—husband­wife or parent­child or friendship! As far as I'm concerned, I'm not the best engineer as expected. However, I have made my efforts. That's enough.

So learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life. Burnt toast isn't a deal­breaker! Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket but into your own. You will appreciate the value of every soul including yourself.