I received a call today asking if I would be willing to bring food to a family in need. The mother was having a major operation and would be lying down for several weeks. Of course, I responded with an immediate “Yes!”. As I planned the meal in my head, I reflected on how many times over the years I had been asked to prepare food. I have done so countless times with a very open heart.

    But the truly amazing thing is that I have received double over the course of my life. When my mother passed away, our house was filled with fresh dinners for weeks. A woman from the church of our community stopped by each evening with some food. The gift of food was her small way of trying to ease our pain.

    Later in my life, when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with twins, women of the church again stepped in to help. They arranged babysitting for my two-year-old daughter, and brought lovely dinners to our house. Even when I was put in the hospital, my husband would bring cooked meals to my hospital room. How we relied on these dinners to feed my tired husband and young daughter.

    Food is all about comfort. It feeds our bodies, but it can also feed our souls. When you hear people talking about their favorite holidays, it usually includes their feelings connected with sharing food. I know that I will have many more opportunities in my lifetime to prepare food for others. It is truly a gift I want to prepare and deliver to someone in need.

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When I was in my third year at university, my roommates were American footballers, so I decided to join them. I remember seeing them in front of me wearing pads (防护垫), and thinking they were going to kill me. I got tackled (阻截) so hard that I was frightened. But then I realized it was just physical contact. I've been addicted since.

The fundamental aim of the game is to score by running with the ball into, or receiving the ball inside the opposition's end zone. Every player on the field has a set responsibility. I'm a running back. My job is using my speed, strength and skill to carry the ball and keep running until either I score or I get put down. And it does hurt.

I've broken two fingers and hurt my shoulder, but the worst was when I trapped the ligaments (韧带) in the back of my leg. I had to take a year out. But none of that put me off- all I could think was how I was going to come back stronger. Besides training with the team, I now have my gym routine to get fitter, faster and stronger.

Although people think American football is aggressive, there's much more to it. Every team has its own playbook, outlining everyone's role in different scenes. My playbook was 73 pages long. Words can't describe how it feels when it all comes together on the field.

American football has changed my life for the better. I've learned time management, how to take responsibility for my action, and how much I treasure being part of a team. Within the four lines of the field, it is physical. Emotions run high. If you're on the opposing team, you are my enemy. But once the game is done, we're like a big family.

    One of the United States' social problems is the breakdown of the two-parent family. Today, millions of American children grow up without fathers. Too often, these children lack the love and help they badly need and which they would ordinarily receive from not one but two parents. In the old days, American parents placed the needs of their children above their own. At present, however, nearly one half of all new marriages end in divorce(离婚), with often troubling results for their children. Worse, every year, thousands of teenage, unmarried Americans become mothers outside marriage. However, Chinese continue to value whole marriages. This is not to say that Chinese marriages are all perfect - they certainly are not, there are increasing more divorces in China - but the willingness of Chinese to set aside their own needs and stay together for the sake of the children is highly respected and worthy of study.

    Families are important to Americans. If one was to ask a group of Americans what is the dearest to them, the majority would say “family”. And yet, so many Americans spend much more time at work- that is, beyond the formal forty-hour work week - than they do with their own families. It seems to me that Chinese generally find a better balance between work and family needs than many Americans do. Average Chinese usually head home right after work，have meals together, and spend time with their family members. What's more, Chinese try to make more time for grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins than many Americans; in many cases, multigenerational families live together. Of course, like many facts of Chinese society, this is all changing; increasing numbers of “New Chinese” are working longer hours and spending less time with their families than ever before. Still, while Americans do value their loved ones, I think we have something to learn from the Chinese about finding the proper balance between work and family.

    Born and raised in a digital age, today's young people are generally tech savvy (技术娴熟的). But when it comes to basic life skills, they're less capable than the older generation.

    According to a recent study, 69 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds in the UK have no idea how to bleed a radiator(暖气片换水). About 35 percent of them don't know how to sew on a button, while about 11 percent don't understand how to change a light bulb or iron clothes.

    It appears young people are losing the skills older generations took for granted. In fact, the problem is shared by young people in the United States. According to a report by Forbes in 2014, most millennial (千禧一代) drivers don't know how to check their tire pressure. Cooking is another basic life skill that has been dropped, as millennials are much more likely to order food deliveries than previous generations.

    Technology may be to blame for this generational gap. Skills at using phones and computers are the ones valued these days, and the practical skills are now seen as functions that can be easily outsourced (外包). Indeed, improvements in technology have made young people unfamiliar with many basic life skills. For example, with GPS always at hand, young people have had no need to learn how to read physical maps.

    However, this change has raised concerns among many people. “If you have your master's degree and you can't live within your means or go home from your job and feed yourself a nutritious (有营养的) meal, you're not a complete graduate,” Chris Moore, a professor from Brigham Young University, US, told Huff Post.

    That's why there's an increasing call for the return of “home ec” in the US, short for home economics, which teaches basic life skills like cooking and how to do laundry. It was very popular in the early 20th century, but was later taken out of schools and universities because of budget(预算) cuts. But recently, home ec was reintroduced in a small number of schools and universities.

    “The educational system would work better if every academic class had a practical course that applied the theory to do something regular people do in real life,” Robert Frost, instructor and flight controller at NASA, wrote on Quora, according to Huff post.

    Join us for an exciting day of music at the UNI Dome with the Panther Marching Band!

    Band Day is perfect for high school band students in grades 9—12. Come and join us for an outstanding, positive and friendly musical and social experience for high school band students! We hope you'll enjoy the fellowship with other band students throughout the state and the fantastic performances of bands!

    Directors who wish to bring their full bands or a smaller group of band students should find this to be an easy and fun event to organize and attend! Individual students who wish to participate as single performers are strongly encouraged to attend! You'll have a chance to meet our fantastic students and perform in a friendly and welcoming environment!

    Date: November 9

    Music: A link to download music will be included in your confirmation email after you register.

    Music will be available at that link no later than September 1.

Registration:

    Band directors registering full bands or groups of students from the same band should register here: https：//bands, uni.edu/band-day-group-registration

    Individual students registering independently may register here: https //bands,uni.edu/panther-band- day-individual-registration

    Cost: $ 10. 00 per student includes: admission to the game, pizza dinner, music and a Band Day T-Shirt.

    Notes:

    We've changed our payment method to improve the registration process. Individual students must pay using a credit card at the time of registration. Band directors may either pay with credit card or mail a check made out to Panther Marching Band.

    Final deadline for registration submissions is Monday, October 14.

    Due to space limitations, band/individual students may be limited to a first-reply basis.

A new book called "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua has caused a debate (争论) about cultural differences in parenting. Amy Chua is a teacher in an American university and both of her parents are Chinese. In the book, Ms. Chua writes about how she taught her daughters. She told NBC television that she had a clear list of what her daughters were not allowed to do, such as having a play date, watching TV or playing computer games and getting any grade less than an A.

Many people are against Amy Chua's parenting style (风格), even her husband, who is American. They say it is rude and unfair to children. But she says her parents raised her and her three sisters in that way.

Ms. Chua says after her younger daughter shouted "I hate my life! I hate you!" she decided to retreat because she was afraid of losing her daughter. But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children's abilities.

"The debate is about what it means to be a successful parent and what it means to be a successful child," said Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting. She says Amy Chua's parenting style is not limited to Chinese families. It is a tradi-tional way of parenting among immigrants (移民). They hope to get a better future for their children.

She also sees a risk (风险). When children have no time to be social or to develop their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life. DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised.