My wife Pat and I were having drinks outside our home, The weather was unusually1for March in Mississippi, There was barely any breeze, After we finished the second cup, flashes of2danced across the sky. When the first drops of rain drove us3 the phone rang.Pat's face4on that gray and hot day. It was our son, David, a helicopter pilot who5in the US Air Force in South Korea. David intended to sound6but we recognized the sign of homesickness from his voice7the power of conversation made us feel8until a crash shook the windows.

    David wondered what it was,“Just thunder,”Pat said.

    There were several seconds of silence,“David”,I asked, “are yo9there?”

    “Yes…apart from the two of you, do you know what else I10most? Thunder, We have rain, wind, and11here, but it never thunders, Remember? Dad, when I was a kid, you laughed me out of fear of thunder? I wish I were there to12with you now.”

    “Yes…”I said, trying to13my tears, On hanging up the phone, I told Pat,“I'm going to record our son some 14”“Bob, the neighbors will think you're crazy.”

    “David won't,” I said and went outside with a recorder, Later I15the tape to David with a single line:A16gift.

    David called again, “Dad,”he said,“you won't believe that some friends and I had a thunder party where we realized we were listening to the sounds of 17 Thanks, Dad! It was really a special present,” While David was in Korea, we found ourselves 18thunderstorms.19feeling blue, we regarded the thunder as special which let us know that wherever we might be, we were 20together as a family.

    I was walking home from school one day and it happened to be a particularly cold and windy day. It was 1and I was crazy enough to forget my hats and scarf. You can imagine my cheeks were rosy 2 and my hands were as numb as they can be.

    All of a sudden, an old lady 3 up beside me and asked if I would like a ride 4. At first, I said it was OK and her 5smile melted(融化) away the thought that I should never talk to 6! We had an amazing chat and she was just 7 a good woman. She told me her 8and she dropped me off.

    I didn't see her or talk to her for about a month and one night as I9 her kind gesture, I decided to return the favor. So, I made a lot of 10 and walked down to her house with my friend. At first I was a bit 11she wouldn't remember me or think that I was a bad man who poisoned cookies but luckily, I was 12 wrong. She was so happy, and she hugged me and kissed me and seemed so 13 that someone would do something like that!

    When I got home my mom told me that she 14and told my mom on the phone that she 15because she was so touched. She said she would never 16 the kindness that was given to her! That filled me with such 17! There really is nothing else joyful like helping 18and making someone's day 19!

    Let us never forget the joy we get 20giving others a hand!

    I arrived at my school one morning. As soon as I walked in, the 1immediately felt sad and uncomfortable. I knew exactly why the mood felt this way. The people around me were 2their emotions, trying to keep their 3steady. Today was the day when our teacher would 4 and move to another school. Mr. Smith was finally saying goodbye to our school after five years'5 here.

    Mr. Smith was a(n)6 likable man. He would tell a lot of jokes during the class 7 so you would remember it. He was very easy to talk with and to have 8 with. He was cool, relaxed,9 was always friendly when you would see him. It was 10 hard not to like him.

    I felt sad and 11.I couldn't even imagine how things were going to be 12 him: all the good times I've had with him. The 13 he said that made me laugh, the countless hours of watching him play the guitar, and the warm 14 he kept on his face. These thoughts 15 my mind, and I became 16.Why did Mr. Smith have to go? This is so 17.I was lost into my thoughts.

    "Hey, are you all right?" My friend Peter 18.

    "Yeah, I'm all right. I'm just kind of sad," I 19.

    "Yeah, me too. I wish he was our teacher forever. Mr. Smith is the best," he 20.

    Most teens I meet these days lack basic social courtesy(礼仪) when dealing with people.

    My own son, who basically grew up with his grandmother, the original 1 guru(专家), has perfect table manners. This is partly because he was 2to manners at a very young age. However, when we eat at home, he would not  3manners. So I asked him why. He said," I behave the way I am supposed to 4 when I'm out, but when I am at home I want to be  5"

    That's when I realized that most parents, myself included, do6 their children the proper way to behave outside the home, but they are also 7to believe that at home, anything goes.

    My 8to him was "good behavior has nothing to do with where you are or whom you are with".

    Then he answered, "But I behave 9when I'm with others so that they think better of me." And that is when I realized that I was doing things all 10. I explained to him that it had nothing to do with what people think. This 11him even more.

    So I went on to explain that behavior, whether in your everyday  12with people or at the dining table at home, is an 13of who you are. Well, at the age of 13, he got it.

    So basically, what I am saying is that teaching your children 14comes with the underlying lesson that it is not about 15to do or not to do, but rather, who they are. This way it is not 16; it comes from within.

    Teach your teens or children the 17courtesy of greeting their friends' parents and 18themselves when they go to someone's home. Teach teenage boys to open the door of a car, or any door 19 anyone who matters, for any girl, whether they are their girlfriends or not. This includes holding elevator doors or letting women step out of the elevator first.

    Just 20that teenage boys who practice good manners' and courtesy grow up to become men who respect people in general.

    One day, when I was in high school, I saw a kid named Kyle from my class walking home from school with all his books. I thought to myself, "1 would anyone bring home all his books for the weekend? He must really be 2 ."

    As I was walking, I saw several kids running toward him. They ran at him, 3all his books out of his arms and he fell down in the dirt. His glasses went 4and landed in the grass.

    My 5 went out to him. So, I ran over to him.  6 I handed him his glasses, he looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!"

    I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it 7 , he lived near me. We talked all the way home. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

    Kyle was the 8 student of our class, one of those guys that really found 9 during high school. Therefore he had the honor to prepare a 10 speech. On the graduation day, I could see that he was 11 . So, I patted(拍) him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be 12 !" He looked at me and smiled.

    He cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to 13 those who helped you make it through those 14 years. Your parents, your teachers…but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best 15 you can give him."

    I just looked at my friend with 16 as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to 17himself over the weekend and was carrying his books home. "Thankfully, nothing happened. My friend 18 me from doing the unspeakable(不能说出来的)."

    Not until that moment did I realize that you should never underestimate(低估) the 19of your actions. With one small act you can 20 a person's life. For better or for worse.

At just seven years old, Angelina Tsuboi discovered her passion for innovation. It all began with a simple game she programmed in her Los Angeles public school's Grade 2class. Today , at18, the Grade 12 student's initial curiosity has evolved into a deep-seated desire to use technology to decode (解码) real-world problems. 

In 2021, she co-developed Megaphone, one of her first apps, to tackle unanswered post-class questions and poor communication about events and announcements. Her problem-solving ability kept building from there. 

When she took online CPR classes at the start of the pandemic, she figured it couldn't be just her who was struggling with the steps. So she created an app called CPR Buddy ― a winner in the 2022 Apple Swift Challenge ― which guides users through CPR using vibrations (震动) to regulate breath. After winning the award, Angelina presented her work to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a highlight in her young career, but one she didn't lose her cool over. "There's no point putting people on a pedestal (神坛)," she says. 

The next year, Angelina built an app called Lilac, designed to assist nonEnglish-speaking single parents with resources for housing, job opportunities and translation support. She was inspired by her own experiences as a child of a single mother who immigrated to the US. 

When Angelina decided to pursue pilot training at the age of 16, she was struck by how difficult it was to find financial support, which encouraged her to create yet another app, Pilot Fast Track, which helps those longing to be pilots find scholarships for flight training. 

Looking to the future, besides applying to colleges with great labs, Angelina is exploring the field of aerospace cybersecurity and mechatronics ― combining computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. 

"There's not enough optimism in the world," she says. "I have also been in situations in my life where I've lost a lot of hope. But in the end, it is a mindset, and there are ways in any situation you're in to make it somewhat better. "