My writing career began ten years ago with my articles published locally and nationally. As a beginning writer, I was happy to be on my way, writing and learning as much as I could . With two little kids underfoot, as well as working full-time, it was really difficult to make time for writing, but I managed.

    Readers told me they laughed, cried or were inspired by my articles. But they didn't know what was really going on behind the typewriter. I was not a happy mommy, and found it difficult to enjoy the everyday little things in life. In short, I was not a happy person.

    I realized I had to make some changes. I started walking every morning. It cleared my head, allowed me time to think, gave me fresh air, and made me feel invigorated (精神焕发） and healthy. I was eating wisely, and the weight started to go. I started a new job, joined a monthly writing chapter，and was determined to keep up my walking. Finding the balance was sometimes difficult. But I was determined to fit in writing time because it made me happy. Sure I loved to watch the news and have my tea, but that wasn't what made me truly happy.

    My own happiness has shown through my family, my job performance and my attitude towards challenging situations. I again have readers telling me the effect my writing has had on them, with some able to get on with their own writing because of my articles.

    It was up to me to make it happen—my own happiness. One step at a time-one word at a time. And I did it.

    Last week, we talked about the conflict(冲突) between sleepy teenagers and early morning classes. Many people commented(评论) on our website.

For example, Damla Ece in Turkey wrote: I agree with the idea of starting lessons later so teenagers can feel better in the morning. But sleeping more than seven hours can be wasting time for students.

    Tran in Vietnam disagreed: I think teenagers, on average, need eight to ten hours of sleep every day. It's useless to try to force them to concentrate while they can't concentrate.

    Afshin Heydari from Iran wrote: schools should start early to avoid heavy traffic later in the morning.

    And Suze from Jordan wrote: When I was a teenager, I enjoyed taking my courses as early as possible. That way I could find a long time in the day to do my own activities.

    But Azra from Kyrgyzstan said: the reason why schools start early here is a lack of classrooms.

    And Joruji in Japan wrote: When I was a teenager, I used to get up before six to go to school, which was far from home, and I don't remember having problems. I think nowadays the Internet, TV games and cell phones make teens go to sleep later.

    Thirty-year-old Kika in Spain said: In my opinion, young people are very lazy.

    But Dennis Jin disagreed: For high school students in China, we must reach the classroom at 6:20 in the morning and be back home usually at 10:00 in the evening. Then we'll have some extra schoolwork to do. Can you imagine how long we could sleep every day?

    Teenagers are not the only ones who suffer. Kathy in Canada wrote: My daughter likes complaining about everything in the morning, and I know that this is from lack of sleep. I wish schools should change their start time to 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning.

    And Naima Star in Libya wrote: Getting up so early in the morning and leaving the warm bed is so difficult, especially in the cold weather. It reminds me of that old song: "It's nice to get up in the morning, but it's nicer to stay in bed."

    A group of people asked this question to a group of 4-to-8-year-old children. “What does love mean?” The answers were surprising. The children would answer like they did below.

    “When my grandmother hurt her knees, she couldn't bent (弯腰) over and paint her toenails (脚指甲) any more. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands hurt too. That's love.” Rebecca–age 8

    “Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don't shout at them because you know it would hurt her feelings.” Samantha–age 6

    “Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.” Terri–age 4

    “I let my big sister pick on (捉弄) me because my mum says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.” Bethany–age 4

    “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new clothes.” Lauren–age 4

    “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine–age 5

    “My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clear–age 5

    “You really shouldn't say ‘I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica–age 8

    Have you ever found yourself in this situation: You hear a song you used to sing when you were a child – a bit of nostalgia(怀旧) or "blast from the past," as we say. But it is not a distant childhood memory. The words come back to you as clearly as when you sang them all those years ago.

    Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied the relationship between music and remembering a foreign language. They found that remembering words in a song was the best way to remember even one of the most difficult languages.

    Here is what they did. Researchers took 60 adults and randomly divided them into three groups of 20. Then they gave the groups three different types of "listen-and-repeat" learning conditions. Researchers had one group simply speak the words. They had the second group speak the words to a rhythm, or beat. And they asked the third group to sing the words.

    All three groups studied words from the Hungarian language for 15 minutes. Then they took part in a series of language tests to see what they remembered.

    Why Hungarian, you ask? Researchers said they chose Hungarian because not many people know the language. It does not share any roots with Germanic or Romance languages, such as Italian or Spanish. After the tests were over, the singers came out on top. The people who learned these new Hungarian words by singing them showed a higher overall performance. They did the best in four out of five of the tests. They also performed two times better than those who simply learned the words by speaking them.

    Dr. Katie Overy says singing could lead to new ways to learn a foreign language. The brain likes to remember things when they are contained in a catchy 3, or memorable 4, tune 5.

    Dr. Ludke said the findings could help those who struggle to learn foreign languages. On the University of Edinburgh's website Dr. Ludke writes, "This study provides the first experimental evidence that a listen-and-repeat singing method can support foreign language learning, and opens the door for future research in this area."

    "Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief, and judgment. This inaccurate use would probably cause little confusion if people didn't attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours,'' and "Everyone's entitled to his opinion,'' are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another's opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.

    Is that label accurate? Is it intolerant to challenge another's opinion? It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars?" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they're ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it's obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It's pointless to argue about matters of taste."

    But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not share their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation(审议).

    Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less inaccurately arrived at, with or without examining the evidence.

    Is everyone entitled to his opinion? Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

     Here are opportunities for international student volunteers. You can apply your academic training to overall development programs in service. Group service options are explained here.