“I have recently completed my college degree. The project we were 1in the last class was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and record their 2

    Soon, my husband and I went out to a McDonald's for 3We were standing in line, waiting to be4, when everyone around us began to back away.5 I turned around, I smelled a6“dirty body” smell, and there standing behind me were two 7 homeless men.

    As I looked down at the short gentleman, he was “smiling”. His blue eyes were8of expectation as if in search of acceptance. The second man9 awkward. I realized the second man was mentally challenged.

    The young lady at the10asked him what they wanted. He said, “coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could11. If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy12. I realized that he just wanted to be13. It was too cold outside.

Then I really felt it— the compulsion (冲动) was so great I almost reached out and embraced the short man. I noticed all the customers in the restaurant were14at me, judging my every action. I smiled and 15two more breakfast meals for the two men. The short man looked up at me in16with tears in his eyes.

    I returned to the17on the last evening of class with this story. I turned in “my project” and the teacher read it. Then she said, “Can I18this?”

    I nodded. She began to read19while every student listened attentively.

    In my own way I20the people at McDonald's, my teacher, and every student in the classroom. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

    It was Christmas evening. I just 1home from the nearby grocery store with all kinds of things. The kitchen was2with brown bags and boxes. On seeing me coming back, my youngest son, Isaiah, reached me and 3 if I would play a game with him.

    I took Isaiah's  4 . He stood there and his green eyes were5. “Here is a Christmas6 for you. Please find it. You can see something silver.” he said. I began to look for it. I 7 the table in the corner and some other places.

    After a few seconds, I saw there was a  8 snow globe on the top of the piano. It was silvery and beautiful. I held the cool 9 in my hands. Isaiah said to me that it was to 10 the one that he had broken the year before.. I was puzzled completely. So I bent my 11 beside him. He added12aved enough money and asked his elder brother, Logan to help him buy this one to13 the broken one. They just wanted to give me a (n)14 .

    Logan nodded and smiled. When I15 the key on the bottom of the globe, the quiet room was full of elegant music. Isaiah said, “Mum, do you remember how I by accident 16 your snow globe? It broke on the ground17 the music was still going on. I was so, so sad.”His face turned a little18 . But the truth was that I did not quite 19the broken snow globe after a long time. But Isaiah had been sorry for his 20 all the time. I was sure I would keep this snow globe in my mind forever.

    When 12 girls from San Fernando High School in California received a grant(经费) to develop an invention to solve a real-world problem, they decided to create a solar-powered shelter to help the homeless.

    For over a year, the girls have been using all their free time to complete the 1“They have this amazing internal(内心的)2that I've never seen in any individual,” Violent Mardirosian, a teacher at San Fernando High who is3with the team on the project, told The Huffington Post. “I thought4that maybe some of them would give up, say 'I didn't5this much work,' but they haven't. They're just working hard and they're not giving up and they're super6.

    Living in a low-income community, the girls have seen the 7 of homelessness first-hand. Many of them are from immigrant families and hoped the 8 which is powered by rechargeable(可再充电的) solar panels(控制板), would help the9.

    Seventeen-year-old Maggie Mejia told the Huffington Post that10she had no previous 11experience, the girl figured out as a team how to12the shelter using how –to videos and books that taught them how to code. But the most important13she's learned during the project isn't technical.

    “I've learned a lot about14others, helping the community and being selfless and showing a better world to other people and15someone else's life,” she said. The project was carried out with DIY Girls, a nonprofit that helps fund STEM-science, technology, engineering and math- projects for16.

    Mardirosian said all the participating students have17their interest in STEM through this project.

    “Many of them didn't think about engineering before. They thought maybe they're not18out to be an engineer. But working together, now they 19their skill - whether a writing skill or a drawings skill or a speaking skill, they're all20in this field. Everyone has found their importance in this picture,” she said.

    Jason, our son, was born with cerebral palsy（脑瘫）. My wife and I often comforted him as he faced many 1 in his early years.

    It was 2 to see him regularly chosen last for baseball, but his most 3 time came when he began high school. One afternoon, Jason returned home in 4 and shouted: "I'm never going to school again!" He was 5 with food that other kids had 6 him on the school bus on the way home. Jason later told us what had 7. A few days earlier, Jason had 8 up for the school running team. That day, a few older students made 9 of his performance on the track. I called the headmaster about the 10, and it never happened again.

    One day, as the other kids exercised in the gym, they 11 one lonely runner-Jason jogging around the snow-covered track. A few weeks later, Jason said to me, "Dad, I was ready for the 12. He added that each month, each student 13 an "athlete of the month" and voted for the 14. Jason's name had never been 15. But that day, one student said: "Sir, I would like to propose Jason for athlete of the month. "The coach looked 16. "He works harder than any of us, Sir," the student continued. Tears 17 in Jason's eyes as everyone in the class put their hands up. We, also in tears, looked on as he 18 displayed his certificate.

    Whenever I despair, I think of this story. I 19 myself that challenges are not overcome by 20, but by patience, determination, and faith.

Clair Hughes initiated her quest for frugal methodologies to extricate herself from a £3,500 educational advance that had spiraled into a financial overhang. This economic strategist commenced an online odyssey in search of vouchers that would provide her with markdowns on her purchases. She divulged that the full value of an item seldom left her wallet, proclaiming, "Deductions are perpetually accessible; the key lies in meticulous organization. Initially, I anticipated an onerous endeavor, but I have now assimilated this lifestyle to the point where it has become second nature. I have effortlessly amassed savings exceeding £15,000."

In the year 2010, Ms. Hughes directed her attention towards fiscal conservation when she relocated to share a domicile with her significant other, Shane Byrne, an instructor within the telecommunications sector. Seeking counsel through digital means, she implemented a series of astute financial maneuvers, such as transferring her financial overdraft to an account that levied no interest. Subsequently, after a few years, she encountered an online collective of individuals devoted to the art of voucher accumulation and resolved to experiment with their practices.

She dedicated considerable time to navigating the digital expanse in pursuit of vouchers, meticulously printing each one to accompany her on her commercial forays. Over the passage of time, she has secured some remarkable bargains. On one occasion, a pair of luminaries valued at £140 were hers for the mere sum of £35.

Two years prior, Ms. Hughes expanded her repertoire of economic strategies by incorporating rebate applications that offer monetary restitution on a spectrum of items from alcoholic beverages to personal care products. Post each commercial venture, she uploads visual documentation of her financial transactions, which are subsequently scrutinized, and restitution is granted on certain acquisitions.

Among her other premier recommendations for financial prudence, Ms. Hughes advocates participation in remunerative online surveys, which have yielded her a substantial cache of vouchers. She remarked, "I have encountered accounts of individuals gathering forsaken receipts from shopping carts to seek overlooked discounts. The extent to which vouchers and rebate applications have been of service to me is astonishing. The community significantly enhances my financial endeavors. There is invariably an individual prepared to elucidate the operational intricacies."