I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to 1 grade six. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

    One day after class, she2 that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came 3 to me and began to talk to me. It was just a normal conversation. After that day, she gave me particular4  and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling 5  someone believed me, and my6  started to improve in her subject.

    Months later, she moved into a house near my7 . We would walk home together after school. Her constant (不断的) support helped me, 8  in my studies, as I knew she would check my grades both in her subject 9  the other subjects. I finally 10 second in my class.

    Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away (疏远) 11 still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we 12  spoke, but by then I had become the 13  in my class. When I left my school, I was 14 with her, as she never answered the15  when I called her.

    Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths 16  again. I met her at a wedding. I could not 17 asking her, "Why did you stop talking to me?"

    "You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree 18  on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel 19  of you. You are your inspiration(灵感，鼓舞) and do not need to 20  a shoulder," she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I'll always thank her.

Back to School

    I had always longed to get a degree, but raising a family had come first. Now with my last1in middle school, I thought, why not try to2something while I still had the opportunity. When I told my husband Bob my idea, a broad smile lit up his face. “If that's what you3 we'll make it work.”

    When we asked the kids for advice, they had mixed4Our daughter, already in college, thought it a great idea while John, in high school, was5that we might be in college at the same time. James, our youngest, wanted to know who would take him to football practice. I6that things would be a little different7 if everyone contributed, it wouldn't be difficult.

    The next day we drove to the community college and after a careful research, I chose to8in occupational therapy (康复理疗) . Days passed in excitement, enrolling in classes, shopping for9and attending orientation(入学指导). I felt like a kid again, but as the first day of classes drew near, I became10I was simply too old. People would laugh at me. Finally, with encouragement from my family and friends, I stuck with my11

    As I entered my classroom that first morning, I chose a seat in the back, hoping to12attention. For the rest of that day, I did what I saw the other students do, and gradually, my self-consciousness faded. I found the classes and assignments13 and I left that day feeling I might survive. By the end of the first week, I had made a few friends.

    Studying and keeping up with my duties at home was14No sooner had I begun to study than it was time to drive the kids to their activities. Math and science were15my strong subjects, so I devoted more time to those. When the first semester16 I had a 4.0 GPA and was placed on the Honor Roll.

    By the second year, Bob and the kids were all doing their17 and I had learned how to comfortably18my school and home life. My hard work paid off. I was awarded a scholarship and got the bachelor's degree.

    As I drove away on the last day of school, I thought about what a difference returning to19had made in my life. I looked much younger and I had more20and enthusiasm for life. I even became a therapist. It's never too late to try again.

    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.

    I walked into a bank in town a couple of days ago and waited in the queue. I was the second1and I couldn't help overhearing the2in front of me. The bank clerk must have been having a(an)3 day and after asking how the4was and so on, he began to complain about our government, 5them for not doing enough to6the coast from storms and floods as this had been much on the news at the time.

    He was in7spirits and you could tell that he was really8about a lot of things going on in the world.

    My heart went out to him. I was 9 next and all I could do was10. 1didn't have any words. Afterwards, it 11to me something that had been running under my own thoughts.

    So I left the bank, found a12and on it I wrote: Sometimes the bad parts of the world seem so13. There are so many sad things going on in the news. They make it hard to see 14going on around us. But that doesn't15life right now can't be beautiful. All you have to do is open your eyes. It's in the gaps(缝隙) that beauty is16.

    I17the postcard back into the bank, wandered around and18 it on a table, 19that the bank clerk would find it. Whether he did or not, I never found out, but it20would do someone some good, which I'm certain of.

    Dad had a green comb (木梳). He bought it when he married Mum. Every night, he would hand me his 1 and say, “Good girl, help Daddy clean it, OK?”

    I was 2 to do it. At age five, this dull task brought me such 3. I would excitedly turn the tap 4 and brush the comb carefully. Satisfied that I'd done a good job, I would happily return the comb to Dad. He would 5 affectionately (慈爱地) at me and place the comb on his wallet.

    Two years later, Dad started his own 6, which wasn't doing so well. That was when things started to 7. Dad didn't come home as early and as much as he used to. Mum and I became 8 with him for placing our family in trouble. With 9, an uncomfortable silnce grew between us.

    After my graduation, Dad's business was getting back on track. On my 28th birthday, Dad came home 10. As usually I helped him carry his bags into his study. When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, would you help me 11 my comb?” I looked at him a while, then 12 the comb and headed to the sink(水槽).

    It hit me then: why, as a child, 13 Dad clean his comb was such a pleasure. That routine(习惯) meant Dad was home early to 14 the evening with Mum and me. It 15 a happy and loving family.

    I passed the clean comb back to Dad. He smiled at me and 16placed his comb on his wallet. But this time, I noticed something 17 . Dad had aged. He had wrinkles next to his eyes when he smiled, 18 his smile was still as 19 as before, the smile of a father who just wanted a good 20 for his family.

    One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Sweetie, my company wants to 1 me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done 2 and allowing you to skip a grade(跳级), but you'll have to 3your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher？”She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me 4 for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the5 decisions adults had to make.

    For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd 6 wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her 7 and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

    During my fourth grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large 8 apartment, I became 9 how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then 10 I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on 11 family and work. 12 difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion(热情) and a 13 attitude.

    Back home, I 14 myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she 15 to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be 16. I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable17.

    My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the 18 has really taught me. Sacrifices(牺牲) 19 in the end. The separation(分离) between us has proved to be a 20 for me.