I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an Unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking,1 she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and me.

    Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my 2  . She wanted to know how I thought we should3 things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew 4  about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her 5 . It was cause and effect: She believed I had opinions, so I began to 6  them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how 7  I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.

    Mrs. Neidl's 8  that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it 9 !"I began to take10 . I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing--only things to be11  upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and12  create something.

    The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was13  in the programs "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I'd put in. It was that year that I14  I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.

    Being on that stage-design team15  Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also16  a strong interest and a world I hadn't known existed. She taught me not to17  what people think I should do: She taught me to take chances and not be18 . Mrs. Neidl was my comforter when I was upset. Her 19 in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined20 .

    I remember arriving at my college accommodation for the first time. I 1my things, and then sat on the bed and burst into2.This 3 for a year. The lectures and exams were both filled4sorrow. I had a terrible 5 that I must be doing something6since everyone else seemed to be happy.

    It was my mum who finally gave me the7to leave. I was home for the weekend and we were talking about how much 8I was putting on myself. Finally she 9said, "How about just not going back on Monday?" At the time, I didn't think of this as10. It felt like falling back into a11hole without a ladder.

    It was hard to climb out. My depression(沮丧) was far12 serious than anyone had ever thought. But I know now that my decision to leave school wasn't about13. It was about stepping back from the education 14wasn't right for me. And it was about moving forward by pushing  15depression.

    I can't say enough about how valuable stepping back was for me. After I left  16 I was ready to move forward. I 17my own company. Almost five18years have passed and my little company is doing well19 now I find myself with another choice to expand or to stay small for another year. I may step back20 but then I will move forward.

    27- year - old Ross OC Jennings has become an online celebrity for his bagpipe-playing (演奏风笛) photos across the globe. He calls 1 the First Piper.

    The seed for the world traveling idea 2 him when he attended a travel expo in London, where he met adventurers who shared their 3from across the globe. Ross was attracted by their stories.

    The 4 began on a night in Tunisia in May 2014 by chance. Ross 5 his bags without knowing much about the North African country. 6Tunisia, he traveled across Western Europe, the mountains of China, played in front of the Taj Mahal in India and Cambodians ancient temples. But his greatest 7was in Kenya.

    On the way to Nairobi, Ross arrived at a famous 8 sanctuary (禁猎区) and hotel in Kenya. He begged the hotel owners to ask if he could play the bagpipes there. They answered9, "Of course the house was built by a Scotsman." "the minute I started playing all these giraffes started 10 towards me, rocking. It was the most 11 audience I've ever had.

    Ross has three 12 when traveling. First, pipe in a school to interact with students; second, challenge himself to play in a dramatic place; and last, play in public. His Facebook is filled with 13 taken from around the world.

    Ross's journey is all 14 thanks to his unique music career, which started at the 15 of thirteen when he was offered the chance to play bagpipes at school. After leaving university, he 16 "the last thing I wanted to do was work behind a desk". Inspired by the travel expo and equipped with his bagpipes, he made his wish to17a real desk.

    18 planning what to do in the countries Ross visits, the plans seem to find him. He said, "Chance is a big part of it. That's why I partly, intentionally, don't try to plan too much." The music connects people in uncommon and wonderful 19. "Without having this dripping in clichés（陈词滥调）, it is amazing how20 does connect people and how it makes people smile," Ross said.

    I received an e-mail from a good friend last week. Her letter opened with the usual greetings, but then turned sour as she began to 1the pain in her heart.

    My friend doesn't have a good relationship with her parents.2she is an 18-year-old high school student, her parents,3her father, are still trying to control her life.

"I admit I haven't4the level of excellence they expect. As long as I let them down, they always scold(责骂) me." she wrote, adding, "They're never satisfied with what I do. Every time I see them, my confidence gets 5. I feel bitter and annoyed. Sometimes I don't even want to stay with them."

    I understand my friend's6. I know what it's like to have people refuse my 7 and insist I do what they 8 . I know I have to give her a 9. Still, I have to be honest, and try to give her useful 10 .

    I think she needs to find it in herself to 11 her parents. I don't think many of us truly12the power of forgiveness. 13forgiving, we get mad, and that14 is often shown in our words and actions. We want those who have hurt us to be15in some way.

    I still remember something that happened to me in high school. A friend said something 16 about me, and I didn't say a word to her for months. Years later I 17that although my actions seemed18at the time, my hurt feelings were not worth losing a good friend. I regret that I did not forgive her.

    The power of forgiveness is truly 19. Learn to forgive, and when you do so you'll find yourself feeling better. And you can also set yourself 20to experience peace and love.

    I had just arrived in this Asian country for a one-year teaching position. One day, I took the subway to visit some ancient palaces and temples in the downtown. The following account of what happened to me has taught me much about culture 1.

    Since all the 2 were taken, I stood. Suddenly, I felt someone pulling on my bag.3 I probably was in someone's way, I moved over slightly. 4 in one quick motion(动作), I felt my bag removed from my back, and in a flash it was5. I turned around to see who the thief was. I looked at the people standing behind me, but didn't see my bag or any 6.My heart sank and I began to7.

    I glanced around the car only to find directly across from me was an elderly lady, and sitting on her lap was my 8. I tried to get it back from her lap. But as I began to 9 it up, she quickly grabbed it back and held onto it. I looked around at the people standing beside me, and those sitting beside her, but no one took any 10 of the situation. Trying not to cause a(n)11, I tried to communicate through gestures. I used my hands as best as I could, but she 12 my requests for my bag and pointed to my back. She picked up my bag, showing how 13 it was. I finally began to understand. She was holding my bag to 14 me.

    As the subway 15 the main downtown station and I was getting ready to get off, the woman 16 handed me back my bag. But 17 I had a chance to thank her, she had disappeared into the crowd.

    Sadly, this 18 custom was more surprising to me than pleasing. Everyone back home had heard of being robbed—that was 19 city behavior—but having a stranger hold onto someone's bag out of 20, in a city of twelve million people—that was truly unusual.

The Gift of Forgiveness

    The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his old 69 Chevy Malibu convertible. What did I know about classic cars? For me, the important thing was that Hannah and I could1around Tucson with the top down.

    Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much2. That summer she3with a modeling agency, doing catalog and runway work.

    A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we4at the McDonald's drive-through, putting the fries in the space between us to5. "Let's ride around awhile," I said. It was a clear night, hot, full moon hanging low over the desert. Taking a curve (弯) too6, I ran over some dirt and fishtailed. I then moved quickly through a neighbor's landscape wall and drove into a full-grown palm tree. The front wheel came to rest halfway7the tree trunk.

    There were French fries on the floor, the dash (仪表盘) and my lap. An impossible amount of8was on Hannah's face, pieces of skin hanging around her eyes. We were taken in separate ambulances. In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly: "Best plastic surgeon (整容医生) in the city…but it is more likely the9of her modeling career…"

    We'd been wearing lap belts,10the car didn't have shoulder belts. I'd broken my cheekbone on the steering wheel; Hannah's11had split wide open on the dash. What would I say to her?

    When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her12. She sat beside me and took my hand. "I drove into the back of the car of my best friend when I was your age," she said. "I completely13her car and mine."

    "I'm so sorry," I said.

    "You're both14," she said. "Everything else doesn't matter." I started to explain, and Sharon stopped me. "I15you. Hannah will too."

    Sharon's forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to stay16throughout high school and college, to be in each other's weddings. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I tend to feel angry about someone for a perceived(可感知到的)17, and whenever I see Hannah. The scars (伤疤) are now18and no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still19the faint, shiny skin just below her hairline—for20, a sign of forgiveness.