Growing Up

    I fell in love with driving before I could ride a bike. For my second birthday I 1 my first car. It was the most 2car with leaves as fuel and my feet as its engine. I would try to 3 my elder sister or parents to push me and was always waiting for that day 4 I could drive for real.

    My sixteenth 5 finally arrived. After all the 6 , I got my permit(驾驶证).7 at it, I couldn't wait to drive. After tons of begging, my dad  8 me to an empty parking area. I sat in the driver's seat, 9and scared. I put one foot on the gas pedal(脚踏板)and 10 on the brake(刹车). "Never use your left foot,, switch(转换) between the brake and gas pedal 11 your right foot only." Dad 12 . That's when I realized I didn't know what I was doing, but I was too excited to13 . Dad and I spent the whole afternoon 14 the basic skills of driving. For the next month I 15 to drive almost every day in all kinds of parking lots, and 16on the road.

    Driving is an important 17 in my life. It not only shows I have become more 18 , but also that I have grown up. In some ways I'm still that little girl trying to get my 19 to push her, but now I'm starting to push  20.

    Don't stop believing. If you're not reaching your highest potential, it might not be for lack of talent or determination, 1 because you're not keeping the right things in front of you.

    A few years after my dad died, I was 2 with the desire to write a book. For 3, I set two copies of my dad's most popular book beside my bed. One copy was in English, the other in 4. My dream was that my book would be translated into Spanish, too.

    Kevin is a twin. He 5 having twins himself. His wife Lisa had several surgeries. They attempted every 6 treatment. But 7 worked. They were beyond 8. One day Kevin found a small package in the mailbox. There were two diapers (尿布) inside. He ran into the house and 9 Lisa. “Look, honey, we just got the first diapers for our babies！”He wrote the date on them and put them on his 10 table. Month after month, they were the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes, and the last thing he saw 11 he fell asleep. Several years later, Kevin and Lisa got a phone call asking if they would be interested in 12 a baby.“Yes！” they said. The caller asked, “Would you consider accepting two？These are twin girls about to be born, and they need a good home.” Talk about a dream 13！

Remember that 14 I dreamed about writing？In 2004 I wrote Your Best Life Now. When the publishers read it they decided to 15 it in English and Spanish at the same time.

    Proverb says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish (毁灭).” 16 vision your dream will die, and part of you will die with it. Studies show that we move toward what we 17 see. Is there something you see every day that 18 you？Keep them in front of you to 19 you of what you're aiming for. If your dream is to go to a particular college, buy a T-­shirt with the school name and wear it 20.

    I was driving to a business appointment when I came to a very busy crossroad. The traffic light had just turned red. Suddenly, an unforgettable 1 caught my eye. A young couple, both blind, were 2 arm-in-arm across this busy crossroad with cars racing by in every direction. Each of them had a walking stick extended, searching for clues to 3 them.

At first I was moved. They were trying to 4 what I felt was one of the most scary disability—blindness. It 5 be terrible to be blind. My thought was quickly interrupted by 6 when I saw that the couple were directly walking toward the middle of the crossroad. Without 7 the danger they were in, they were walking right into the path of oncoming cars. I was concerned because I didn't know 8 the other drivers understood what was happening.

    To my astonishment, I saw a(n) 9 scene unfold before my eyes. Every car in every direction came to a(n) 10. No sharp sounds of brakes or noisy horn were heard, 11 did anyone yell, “Get out of the way!” Everything 12. At that moment, time seemed to stand still for this couple.

    Amazed, I 13 the cars around me. I noticed that everyone's attention was fixed on the couple. 14 the driver to my right yelled, “To your right! To your right!” Other people 15 in union, shouting, “To your right!”

    The couple 16 their own course and they made it to the other side of the road. 17 they arrived at the roadside, one thing impressed me--they were 18 arm-in-arm. I was taken aback by the 19 expressions on their faces and judged that they had no idea what was really 20 around them.

    As I drove away, I did so with more awareness of life and care for others than ever before.

    A few weeks ago, while I was going home from work, I saw an old dog 1 on the side of the road. I got 2 to see why he would be there and felt shocked when I saw he was not able to 3 his hind legs(后腿), which seemed to have been broken. He 4 me with painful looks 5 he was asking me for help. I knew I couldn't turn my back on him when he needed 6.

    Some people who live nearby told me that he was 7 by a motorcycle and the 8 pushed him there. I went daily to give him food and water, 9 I also got a wooden board to cover him from the bright sun.

    I heard on the news about the 10 weather for that weekend and 11 to bring him home with some help from my father. He called some vets to help him with his legs, 12 he was not able to stand on four and dragged the hind legs.

    After some 13 and a sheltered home with love and 14, he is now able to walk with a little 15 and he even runs around now. He is so 16 and even though I have three other dogs and two cats, I made some 17 in my home and my heart for him. I feel so happy and 18 when I see his eyes. I love 19 and these six hairy babies are the most special things I 20 have.

    I'm not a person who loves collecting, but the TV room of my house is full of things. In it are things that there's no other place to put, and things I can't decide1to throw away, such as a lot of old bottles and boxes, some books and out-of-date magazines and a wood stove (炉子) I2use. The TV itself could actually work, but I only turn it3every four years to watch the presidential election.

    The other night, scratching (抓) sounds from the TV room4me up. Quietly, I entered the room,5the stove and opened its front door. There it was, a trembling squirrel,6me desperately.

    I decided to give it a(n)7escape way. Therefore, I opened the outside door, stepped back and8. The squirrel jumped out of the9, but didn't head outside.10, it run through my magazine pile and then struggled among the bottles.

    "Why didn't it11?" I wondered for a while until I12 that I probably put13into that small squirrel's heart. So I quickly14myself in the kitchen and watched the uninvited guest through the window. In my15, the squirrel became16enough to look around and assess the situation. Suddenly, it17merrily.

    The animal actually did a great18: I couldn't stand my19TV room for so long, so after the unexpected guest's leaving I spent half a day cleaning and throwing. I eventually got a tidy TV room and some20space.