Last year my summer holiday was spoiled by my bringing along a modern convenience that was too convenient for my own good: the iPad. Instead of looking at nature, I checked my e-mail. Instead of paddling a small boat, I followed my Twitter feed（推特简讯）. Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading four newspapers each morning. I was behaving as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation, but my head wasn't.

    So this year I made up my mind to try something different: withdrawal from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy, since I'm bad at self-control. But I was determined. I started by giving the iPad to my wife.

    The cellphone signal at our house was worse than in the past, making my at tempts at cheating an experience in frustration （沮丧）. I was trapped, forced to go through with my plan. Largely breaking away from e-mail, Twitter and my favorite newspaper websites, I had few ways to connect to the world except for the radio—and how much radio can one listen to, really? I had to do what Ihad planned to do all along: read books.

    This experience has had a happy ending. With determination and the strong support of my wife, I won in my vacation struggle against the Internet, realizing finally that it was I, not the iPad, that was the problem. I knew I had won when we passed a Star bucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi.“I don't need it,” I said．

    However, as we return to post-vacation life, a harder test begins: Can I continue when I'mback at work?

    There are times when the need to know what's being said right now is great. I have no intention of giving up my convenience completely. But I hope to resist the temptation to check my e-mail every five minutes, which leads to checking my Twitter feed and a website or two.

    I think a vacation is supposed to help you rest your brain to become more productive. Here I hope this one worked.

    Finding a summer job often shows that you're growing up, and it's also a way to earn money to pay for what you dream of. It's never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you!

    Retail（零售）Sales

    Retail offers plenty of chances for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $ 10 to $ 15 an hour depending on the duty you are expected to take on. For more information, call us at 4005075.

    Food Service

    A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the chance to earn between $ 7 and $ 9 per hour. Just call 4005077 for more information.

    Babysitter （保姆）

    This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $ 6 and $ 8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction（互动）with kids. Got a question? Just call 4005076.

    Housekeeping

    This type of work can bring in about $ 5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to help with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone 4005079.

    Many young people these days adore the advertised magazine body and become too focused on attaining this image instead of worrying more about what lasts and even grows over time. But could you imagine being considered beautiful for years, and suddenly being ugly after moving to another continent? It is a sad reality that people don't realize how vacillating the idea of beauty can be from one country to another.

    Think of the most typical American girl you know. Is she blonde-haired with white skin and light blue eyes, and does she love shopping or sports? Now place this girl in the heart of Africa, where beauty is placed on what you can control. The Maasai tribe in Kenya focuses on how clean people are, and how stylish their piercings (穿孔) are. This tribe's culture is to be a brave fighter, so they will cut their skin with patterns in it to show that they are strong. If you don't look fierce, you are not beautiful.

    Other countries like North Korea and South Korea have their own unique views on beauty. In an interview, a woman who has lived in both North Korea and South Korea claims that beauty in North Korea is based more on your ability to be a good woman and wife. She says that women in North Korea are less concerned about fashion and beauty in the physical sense. She says they did have a time when big eyes were a big deal and everyone wanted to get double eyelid surgery. This is something extreme and could perhaps be influenced by Western culture. But don't you think the idea of getting surgery done to look more attractive is crazy?

    The bus was full of the sounds of laughing and yelling fifth graders. They were on their way to the zoo for a class trip. Mario was excited to see the zoo, but there was one problem. It was ten o'clock in the morning, but his stomach was already grumbling(咕咕叫). He reached down and grabbed his lunch bag. Opening it, he saw that it contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, and two cookies. Mario sighed. He always had peanut butter and jell.

    “Trade you lunches,” he said to the boy seated next to him on the bus．

    “Okay,” said Mark as he handed his brown bag to Mario．

    Mario opened it and was hit with the smell of tuna(金枪鱼). Mario wrinkled his nose and quickly closed the bag. He leaned forward and tapped the shoulder of the girl in front of him.” Swap lunches, Toni?” he asked．

    “Hmm, okay,” said Toni．

    Mario smiled. This was fun. But when he looked into the bag, he frowned. What a disappointment! A ham sandwich, but no cookies! He had to have cookies．

    Mario turned in his seat. “Want to trade lunches?” he asked Juana．

    “Definitely!” said Juana. She grabbed his lunch and tossed hers onto his lap．

    He opened the lunch bag. Pizza! He reached into the bag to grab it. Oh, no! The pizza was hard. He could hit a home run with pizza that hard.

    Mario twisted in his seat. One last try, he told himself. “Hey, Mona! Trade lunches?”

    Three rows behind him, Mona seemed hesitant: Finally, she nodded. She passed her lunch forward, and he passed his back．

    Mario took a deep breath and opened the bag. It was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, and two cookies. The sandwich was a little squashed(挤压), and one of the cookies was broken.

    Mario ate it anyway. And it was delicious.

    Everybody, at some point in their lives, has experienced failure. It could be something as simple as not getting the job you wanted, or getting fewer marks even after hard work. But what makes you is not your failure, but how you get back up after being hit.

    Once, a young school boy was caught in a fire accident in his school and was assumed that he would not live. His mother was told that he was sure to die, for the terrible fire had destroyed the lower half of his body. Even if he were to survive, he would be lame throughout his life.

    But the brave boy did not want to die nor did he want to be lame.  Much to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. But unfortunately from his waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just hung there, lifeless. Eventually he left the hospital. But his determination to walk was unshakable. At home, when he was not in bed, he had to stay in a wheelchair. One day, he threw himself from the chair and pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He reached the fence, raised himself up and then began dragging himself along the fence, firmly determined. He did this every day, with faith in himself that he would be able to walk unaided. With his iron determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk on and off, then to walk by himself and then to run.

    He began to walk to school, and then run to school, to run for the joy of running. Later in college he was on the track team.

    In February 1934, in New York City's Madison Square Garden, this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run-this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile.

    A good example of the power of positive thinking and faith in one's self, Glenn Cunningham continues to be an inspiration for many, and his story, a brilliant evidence to how one can bounce back even when all difficulties are piled against one, to the degree that death seemed the preferable option.

    Do you want to help others in Canada or out of the country? Here are some non-profit organizations in Calgary, Canada, through which you can do something for others.

    Calgary Reads

    Calgary Reads helps struggling readers in Grade One and Two twice a week. Trained adult volunteers carry out one-to-one reading teaching in the children's school during school hours. Volunteers are trained to use a proven effective lesson framework. Time is spent coaching readers while providing a strong role model in each child's life.

    Address: 105, 12th Ave SE | Calgary, AB | T2G 2H8

    Telephone: 1 403 777-8254

    Ukrainian Mission Canada

    This organization helps children in need in Ukraine, a country in eastern Europe. You can donate money or things to help one of the children in need.

    Address: 3806 44 Ave NE | Calgary, Alberta | T1Y5V8

    Telephone: 1 403 451-6991

    Calgary Doula Association

    This organization is formed to provide information about services related to birth and child care for the general public and worried professionals. Monthly meetings provide a networking opportunity and exchange of information for individuals interested in birth and child care, couples who are to be parents, and health care providers.

    Address: 124 Crest haven Place SW I Calgary, ABI T3B 5W4

    Telephone: 1 403 750-2033

    Rainbow Society of Alberta

    Rainbow Society of Alberta helps to fulfill wishes of Alberta children with long-term or life-threatening illnesses. Founded in Winnipeg in 1983, Rainbow Society was the first children's organization of its kind in Canada. Its Alberta chapter(分部) was created in 1986 by a handful of caring volunteers who saw need to bring such a strong support system to children in Alberta.

    Address: PO Box 1153, Station M I Calgary, AB

    Telephone: 1 403 252-3891