In 1973, I was teaching elementary school. Each day, 27 kids1“The Thinking Laboratory.”That was the 2 students voted for after deciding that “Room 104” was too3.

    Freddy was an average4, but not an average person . He had the rare balance of fun and compassion（同情）. He would5  the loudest over fun and be the saddest over anyone's6.

    Before the school year7, I gave the kids a special 8, T-shirts with the words “Verbs Are Your9 “ on them. I had advised the kids that while verbs（动词）may seem dull , most of the10 things they do throughout their lives will be verbs.

    Through the years, I'd run into former students who would provide 11 on old classmates. I learned that Freddy did several jobs after his 12 from high school and remained the same 13person I met forty years before. Once, while working overnight at a store, he let a homeless man 14in his truck. Another time, he15a friend money to buy a house .

    Just last year, I was16 a workshop when someone knocked at the classroom door. A woman17 the interruption and handed me an envelope. I stopped teaching and 18 it up. Inside were the “Verbs” shirt and a 19 from Freddy's mother. “Freddy passed away on Thanksgiving. He wanted you to have this.”

    I told the story  to the class. As sad as it was, I couldn't help smiling . Although Freddy was taken from us, we all20something from  Freddy.

    There is a story about a princess who had a small eye problem that she felt was really bad. Being the king's daughter, she didn't like to listen and kept 1 all the time. When the doctors wanted to help her, she always refused any 2treatment and kept touching her eye and it became worse and worse.3 the king announced a big4 for whoever could cure his daughter. After some time, a man arrived. He 5 that he could cure the princess but6 he was not a doctor.

    After he had 7 her, the man said, “There is nothing much wrong with your eye, hut there is something else that is really 8 .” The princess was worried and asked what it was. He 9and said, “It is really bad. I shouldn't tell you about it.” No matter how much she10, he refused to tell her, saying that he could not speak without the king's11 .

    When the king arrived, the man was still 12to tell his findings. After the king ordered him to tell them, the man said, “Well, there is no problem with the 13 . The big problem is that the princess will start14 a long tail very soon. If she15it when it appears, I can prevent it from growing.” Everyone was deeply concerned at this 16. And the princess stayed in bed, day and night, directing all her17 to feeling when the tail might appear. Thus, after a few days, her eye got well.

    This is how we 18 react: we always focus on our  19 problem and it becomes the center of everything. So far, we have done this20, generation after generation.

Learn to Meet Challenges

    My classmates called me "the alien", and they avoided me like the  plague（瘟疫）. As a young boy, I1from a serious skin disease, which filled my arms with scars. The true2of my condition, however, was social: I lived a life of loneliness.

    Doctors predicted（预言）that I would never fully recover, but my parents encouraged me to hope for the future, teaching me that my difficulty could be overcome. I therefore took a/an 3 role in fighting against my disease, trying many medications and herbs, and my health 4 greatly before I graduated（毕业）. I realized that my personal5had led to this improvement. I regained self­confidence and made many friends at school.

    Years later, 6my personal battle against disease, I learned a great deal about7by overcoming difficulties.

    I joined the Culture Club as a Special Event Director. I8a group of six students in organizing various activities. I was the most advanced ESL student among the group. So I considered myself the most capable. But I quickly learned my9. While preparing for our first presentation, I was10with my team members and often rejected（拒绝）their11. I performed most of their tasks myself, allowing them to12me only with small details. As a result, the presentation was not very successful. The setback13me, and I spoke of it to the club's director. She responded that she14my ability to succeed in the future. This comment filled me with15, for I realized that I had never trusted my own team members. 16they were weak in English, they had many valuable talents. I immediately17my policy, allowing my team members to choose the tasks they desired and to complete them on their own. For our program, we had many meetings, which gave18to many good ideas. Most importantly, the atmosphere among us improved dramatically. We were19and eager to devote time to the program, and I learned what true leadership is.

    My experiences20improved my ability to handle challenging situations.

Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I packed all the necessities(生活的必需品)—except the 1.

    While the convenience of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my 2not to take with me the few expensive kilograms of out-of-date information, this was not the only reason why I decided to fly alone.

    To be honest, my main 3with the guidebook is that I find it 4 the pleasure of a journey—like bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do, 5 she doesn't always know what is the best.

    Experience has taught me that there is an obvious 6 between a tourist and traveler.

    While waiting in a queue, I met a man who had a checklist. He showed me his list of "Top 20 Things To Do in Italy" and 7 off in a loud American accent that he'd seen everything Italy has to offer in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's 8 to travelling was that he was too 9information provided by his guidebook. He was lost in the 10 attractiveness of the "must-sees" and 11 to all the wonders and adventures that might happen during the 12 trip.

    So, 13any guidebook, I traveled to Estonia, the tiny Baltic country bordering Russia. In the 14 of advance plans as guidebooks would suggest, I had no choice but to turn to some friendly faces for advice. I 15myself first and then asked them what was happening around the town. When this16 an invitation to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I 17 a 110-degree wood-stove sauna（桑拿浴）, 18 picked forest-mushrooms and the good 19 of our five newfound Estonian friends, I was most glad that I had left my "bossy 20" at home.

    Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.

    When Tim Becker gets in his car to go shopping, he doesn't 1 drive to a store and back home. He always looks 2 up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything 3 such as strange cars, loud noises, 4 windows, or people gathering on street corners.

    Tim 5 to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville, Indiana. USA. The neighborhood watch group 6 on the third Wednesday of every month. That's 7 Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to discuss community 8. Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police 9 their homes, streets, and families safe.

    Tina Stedman, president of 10 neighborhood watch group, agrees with Tim.

    "People seem to think that crime (犯罪) happens to other people but not 11 them. Well, it's never happened to me," she said, "but I don't think anyone has the 12 to steal from other people or to make them feel 13 sitting in their own homes."

    Alex, a member of the group, said that all the neighbors 14 out for one another. "We 15 each other's homes. We keep watch on the neighborhood at night and on weekends. Usually a 16 of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesn't look right, then we call the 17. For example, if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for 18, or someone destroying property (财产), we report to the police."

    Alex feels the neighborhood watch groups 19 a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees, "Police are good people, but they can't do 20."

    Honesty is always the best policy, especially when it comes to mental health problems. In a TV 1, one girl gets very real about dealing with anxiety and panic.

    "I was the best student in my high school. I put so much 2 on myself," she said. "I never 3 a class. But I got sick during 10th grade and I started to 4. That's when the panic attacks began." She goes on to describe what a panic attack 5 like, "One day the teacher handed me my grade 6, and I couldn't breathe. My heart was beating very 7. I felt disconnected. I saw people trying to talk to me but I couldn't hear them. Afterwards, I was sent to 8," she shared.

    It was then 9 the attacks started happening 10 daily, and they haven't stopped. "Last year I started college. And I can't be the best student here no matter how hard I try," she said. "Everyone is so 11. My panic attacks got so bad that I had to 12 my first semester."

    However, now she is facing her anxiety, and things are getting better. "I used to try to hide 13. I thought that 14 nobody know, it didn't exist," she said. "But the more I talk about my 15, the more I realize that other people experience 16 things. So I'm trying to express it more. I had a great teacher 17 told me, 'Instead of letting anxiety keep you from doing your art, let it be the thing that 18 your art."

    Recently, women all over the world took to Twitter to19 what anxiety is like. We are 20 alone.