I will never forget the tenth summer of childhood with my grandfather in western Norway at the mountain farm where my mother was born. As a boy ,I always thought people simply bought whatever they need. Whether Grandfather knew this, I don't know. One day he said, ”Come, I have something for you.”

I followed him to a workroom. “You should have a toy boat. You can sail it at Storvassdal.” He said. Great, I thought,looking around for the boat. But there was none.

Grandfather pointed to a block of wood. “The boat is in there,” he said. Then he handed me some tools and showed me how to use them properly. “It'll be a fine boat,and you'll make it with your own hands,” he said,”No one can give you what you do for yourself.”The words rang in my head as I worked. Finished the boat. It wasn't much to look at ,but I was poud. Then I sailed it at Storvassdal.

We had to return to America. “You cannot bring that boat home with you,” my mother said. We already had too much baggage. Feeling sad, I hid my boat under a big rock at Storvassdal.

I said good-bye to Grandfather, not knowing I would never see him again.

In 1964, I went to Storvassdal with my parents and my wife and children. To my surprise,for 34 years my treasure stayed here,waiting for my return. I felt we three were togethet again although my grandfather had died 22 years before.

I carved "1930”and "1964”on its side and put it back.

I returned to the lake in 1968,1971,1977 and 1988. Each time I had the boat and carved the year,my grandfather seemed near.

My last trip to Storvassdal was in 1991. I brought my granddaughters: Catherine,13; Claire,12. I hoped they would understand the importance of the little boat and its simple message. At Storvassdal, Claire said softly, ‘Grandpa,someday I'll come back.' She added,”And I'll bring my children.”

A

    Jack Johnson is one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the world.

Jack was born on May 18,1975 in Hawaii. Being the son of a famous surfer,Jack naturally has an interest in surfing. Most of his life lessons were learned in the water. At the age of 17,Jack entered the finals of the Pineline Masters—the world's most famous surfing competition. Everyone thought Jack would become a professional surfer like his father. Unluckily, one month later,he had a deadly accident while surfing and was seriously hurt.

    Life is like a revolving door. When it closes ,it also opens. Jack started to practice playing the guitar and write songs when he was staying in hospital. At first,his father thought Jack only did it for fun,but soon he was surprised at the great progress his son had made.

When studying in the university, Jack didn't stop practicing his guitar skills. He played the guitar for school parties. He wrote songs and sang them for his teachers and friends. They liked his songs. His first music album Brush fire Fairytales came out in 2001. It was a great success. His second album，On and On ， was much like his first. They were filled with sweet，easy-going songs

that everybody liked listening to. Later Jack had lots of concerts in and out of America. He became popular all over the world.

    Jack had five albums by 2010 and more than 15 million copies of them were sold. His music doesn't fit into any of the popular music styles like pop, rock, R&B or hip-hop. It is more like folk music, played with a guitar and beautiful voice. When listening to his songs, you feel like lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine.

    Jack is a talent, though he himself says he is only a surfer who loves music. In his songs we can find his secret of success: Whatever happens in our lives, we have to accept it and do the best we can.

    When I was in Grade 8, my teacher asked us to write an article about what we would like to do when we grew up. All I could think of was one sentence: I want to help other people! Over the years, I met many difficulties and failures. But I never thought of giving up. I realized that to help other people, I had to help myself first. I encouraged myself after I experienced failures, and I cheered for myself when I did well.

    Finally, my dream really came true.  I found a part-time job in a charity. I began to spend my days doing things for people in need. I have a happy life. That doesn't mean that this kind of life is easy, or that my work is always enjoyable. I am happy because I am doing what I want to do.

    What do you want to do? Write it down now. If you don't know, you can ask yourself, "What would I do if this was the last day of my life?" Then write down the first thing that comes to your mind, no matter how silly or how impossible it seems. Once you have an answer, you will know what your dream is.