The Boy Made It!         

    About this time every year, I get very nostalgic(怀旧的)．Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air，children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end.When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become.Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors.

    It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won't be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to these people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever.

    The “comings and goings” of the younger generation of my street are now mostly “goings”as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.

    Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for now homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and  dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is  a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my street will be just another pea in the pod.

    There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the  sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.

    What is success? I am not going to try to explain success. I think a precise meaning is impossible! Is it winning a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games or winning Wimbledon, or being awarded a Nobel Prize? What else? I believe personal success could be anything at all- it does not have to involve public recognition. Who is more successful? A millionaire who is unhappy, or an unnoticed person, who has led a simple, quiet, sincere and happy life? The simplest definition of success, I think, is “to set out to do something and to succeed in doing it.

    The first step on the road to success starts with belief. Believe you can succeed and you will. Achieving success in whatever endeavor(努力)you choose may be the goal of life; because it gives you freedom from worry. Could that be?

    Success means different things to every one of us. Some people believe it is measured in financial term; others believe it is helping others rather than helping themselves. However, most people are motivated to a great extend by public recognition. How many people are really happy? How many people are really doing what they want to with their lives? Incidentally, to imagine makes us different from animals.

    Most important of all, I believe success is a matter of personal growth. If every day you are developing or growing just a millimeter, I believe one is successful. Just being a slightly better person each day for me is success. I've got a very long way to go them!

    Finally, always remember success is a process and is not simply a matter of arriving at a destination. It's the journey that really matters. Success is what you become in the often very difficult and dangerous journey down the river of life.

    Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan

    When it comes to the world's wonderful desert scenery, Jordan's Petra and Wadi Rum has it. Also known as the Valley of the Moon, this place is one of the best due to its amazing desert canyons (峡谷) and rock walls. Participants love exploring its Burdah and Um Fruth, walking to the impressive ancient city.

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

    The Rongai Route is the best route if the participants of the walking tour want a quiet climb. The Kili Trail permits travelers to witness the region's wilderness, virgin forests, and rare animals. This route, according to many, is the easiest way to reach the top where the breath-taking 360-dcgree sights of natural wonders await.

    Quebec, Canada

    This special environment made up of both the natural and cultural treasures, where fresh water becomes one with the tides (潮汐) of the sea, makes Quebec one of the interesting walking tour destinations in the world. Here is a track that heads to the Saguenay Fjord National Park which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Adding to the beauty of Quebec are its sparkling waterfalls, inviting lakes, and rare animals.

    Great Smoky Mountain, US

    This region has been named as the ancestral home of the Cherokee Indians, where rich natural wonders combined with interesting history are the major happenings. The rich natural reserve is evident and enjoyed by walking tour participants. What also makes this destination a popular choice is its reputation as the biggest wilderness on the eastern part of the United States.

Holidays

    For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.

    "It's no secret that China has always been a source(来源) of inspiration for designers," says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion(时尚) shows.

    Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China-inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学) on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.

    "China is impossible to overlook," says Hill. "Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion — they are central to its movement." Of course, not only are today's top Western designers being influenced by China—some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese. "Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking on Galliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs—and beating them hands down in design and sales," adds Hill.

    For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. "The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers," she says. "China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China—its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways."