In my living room, there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to “Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.

    Dorothy taught in a school In Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.

    From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom (忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy's classroom. I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don't know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.

    Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph. D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things.  (360 words)

    Knowing the “right” thing to say and do as parents is not easy. But what if I told you there's ONE word you can add to your vocabulary that will help set your kids up for success for the rest of their lives? You'd let it flow effortlessly from your parenting lips, right?

    Well, that word is “practice”. It generates confidence and a “can do” attitude in kids when you use the word “practice” in place of the more commonly used word “try”. And here's why.

    “Try” means failure, or at the very least, doubt. From a very young age, we are always told to “try this”, “try that” and “try, try again”… “just try”. But “try” suggests the act of wondering what will happen instead of a clear intention of success.

    How many times have you heard someone say they tried something over and over, and it didn't work? Or that they will try to call you or come over and never show? Our subconscious(潜意识的) programming tells us that “try” is a way out for many. It's a word we use when we don't expect success or don't want to do something. We usually think, “Oh well, at least I tried.”

    The word “practice”, however, is different. Practice always makes you better. everyone who is good at something has practiced－doctors, musicians, athletes, students, speakers, singers and the list goes on and on. Did they try it the first time to see if they wanted to pursue it? Yes, but when it came to improving, they practiced. Even toddlers learning to walk are practicing. They have every intention of working successfully, and they keep at it until they do… and that in itself is a great lesson for us adults.

    Good health is the most valuable thing in the world. When you've got it, you never think about it. When you haven't got it, you think about it all the time. Our biggest enemies are not terrible diseases and so on. We are our own biggest enemies because we sometimes destroy our own good health. Some of us eat too much, drink too much and smoke too much. And though our reason tells us we should control ourselves, we find it difficult. The fact is that most human beings need stimulation (刺激). Who doesn't enjoy a drink after a busy day? Only a smoker knows the pleasure of a cigarette with a cup of coffee.

    The danger is when these innocent pleasures run our lives and so destroy our health. When you find yourself eating between meals or eating too much rich food, when you can only keep yourself going by taking frequent drinks or by smoking one cigarette after another, then it's time to stop and think what you might be doing to yourself. The funny thing is that when we don't control ourselves, simple pleasures are no longer simple pleasures.

    All right, I know what you're thinking. You're probably saying, “It's easy to say, but I can't help myself. I need that extra bit of food, that extra drink, that extra cigarette. Life has so many pleasures that I can't do without them.” But I'm saying you can help yourself. Not only that, you must help yourself. Because if you don't help yourself, no one else can. So be your own best friend.

    As I enter my 40s, I've noticed many of my parents' generation think social networking is something they are simply unable to understand. They fear that, should they try, they will somehow get it wrong; they will say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing or behave in a way that causes embarrassment. But there are some secrets of social media for them to consider.

    Here's the first secret: everyone feels this way. I recently met a young actor who was complaining that her work demands that she join Microblog, but she always feels like she doesn't have anything smart to say. It's the same resistance (抵制). I hear from the older generation, who, however, have somehow believed that age is the barrier (障碍), rather than the differences of personal taste.

    Here's the second secret: everybody uses it for more or less the same reasons. Older generations often sign up to stay in touch with children and relatives. We talk about this kind of communication like it's some old-fashioned activity, but it is exactly why younger people use social media. The truth is that most people use social media to gently keep an eye on one another, to see how those they care about are doing without needing to ring them up on the phone every night.

    And this is the last secret: everyone gets to use them in their own way. Newcomers—younger and older—who worry about “getting it right” are thinking that there's a right way to get them. But actually there isn't. Personally, I talk a lot on Microblog. And some people post nothing and they use social media every day as readers. Social media companies would rather see people decorating their networks with pictures and posts, but there's no rule against being a fly on the wall. It's also a fine way to get involved.

    Were quick to forget that the web wasn't invented by 13-year-olds; it was created by today's seniors. I'd never try forcing those with no interest in social networks to use Microblog. But don't let the talk of age divides put you off. There's nothing to stop the older generation from joining in the network their own generation created.

    Our mother earth is going through a very tough situation and we, the entire human race, are destroying our environment or unconsciously without even realizing its consequences. Now we have to act very smartly and plan something to sustain what we still have, getting all necessary support from nature to lead healthy lives.

    Gardening is always an excellent and environmentally friendly idea. If you can go for sustainable gardening, then it will be even more useful for all. Gardening is a favorite hobby for many. It is time to channelize your hobby towards a more meaningful motivation.

    When we do gardening we need to use different ingredients (材料) to grow plants. Some of them are natural resources like water, soil, sunshine, and many things like this. Using these resources smartly is a part of sustainable gardening. Some simple techniques include: use less water and organic things to grow plants; try to store rainwater so that you can use them for gardening; try using less energy to drive devices; avoid using plastics in any form while gardening; reuse the leaves from your garden to fertilize them. These are the basic sustainable measures. To do so we need to have proper knowledge about gardening and its requirements so that we can use proper resources without wasting any of them.

    In today's busy life we don't get much time to spend on our environment. Gardening gives us a chance to do so. We can also have some pesticide-free (无农药的) and fresh food if we grow them in our garden. This is the right time to do some good to protect our own environment and gardening is one of the easiest ways. Do you want to start gardening, but you're not sure how? Click here: http://www.gardenhowto.com.

    I always feel sorry for world leaders busy dealing with fights between nations. When my three children were young, most days it was hard to keep my house from becoming a battlefield.

    It got worse as they grew older. Three years ago, Zack, then 16, couldn't make it through a day without making his sisters, Alex 11 and Taryn 9, angry.

    My husband and I tried to be understanding the boy at such an age. We reasoned, punished, and left heartfelt notes on his bed about how he was hurting our family. His answer was" I say it because it's true."

    I even tried telling the girls to fight back. Bad idea. Now I had three children at war. Whatever I said to them, they paid no attention. When there was no way out, I told everything to my sister, Mary, in an e-mail. She replied, "Don't e-mail me. E-mail him."

    Our son was online every day, mailing and talking with his friends. Maybe he would actually hear me this way. I didn't say anything different, but e-mail just took the tension away. There'd be no shouting or door banging. Zack wouldn't feel under attack.

    Zack didn't reply for days. When he finally did, his entire message was four small words. I smiled when I read them: "You're right. I'm sorry."

    The children still fought, of course, but Zack changed. Best of all, I now have a better way to talk with not one but three of them. I like it that they don't tune me out as much as they used to. They like not having to listen to me shouting to them. Or as Alex says, "You're so much nicer online."

    All I know is that the house is quiet. But we're talking.